According to reports in the Liverpool Echo, Everton are set to battle it out with city rivals Liverpool for Southampton’s highly-rated centre-half Virgil van Dijk. The 25-year-old, who has been in outstanding form for the Saints this season is now out for the rest of the campaign due to injury and is unlikely to play for the club again.
 

The south-coast club are aware of the interest and will use this to inflate the price for the Dutch international to around £55M. Everton boss Ronald Koeman is believed to be reluctant to spend this amount despite the potential sale of striker Romelu Lukaku, set to boost the coffers at Goodison Park.
 

Liverpool on the other hand, seems ready to commit to Southampton’s asking price but the Reds are keen to off-load French centre-half Mamadou Sakho, currently on-loan at Crystal Palace, as part of any agreement to bring van Dijk to Anfield this summer.
 

There may be a further twist to the tale however, with reports also stating that both Manchester United and Chelsea are also monitoring the situation with interest.