Three Serie A defenders who will cost as much as van Dijk

Nikita Fesyukov
15 ott 2018

In January Virgil van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton for a record fee for a defender - £75 million. It was something unprecedented and surprising for the football world, but with the change of the transfer market this may soon be a more regular occurrence, with several Serie A defenders being candidates to leave for a similar amount.

One of the possible 'record-breaking defenders' could be Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina. The Serbian defender has been one of the leading performers for Stefano Pioli's side this season which has attracted interest from both Manchester clubs.

According to recent reports, Manchester United submitted a £53 million bid for the player which was rejected by Fiorentina. If the 21-year-old continues performing the way he has until now, he could most definitely attract bids in the vicinity of the van Dijk offer.

Milan Skriniar from Inter has also been the centre of attention and clubs such as Barcelona, Manchester City and United have all been circling around the Slovakia defender, who is proving his worth in the Champions League this season.

Inter are looking to strike a new contract agreement with the 23-year-old and have been refusing offers for the player from abroad. However, it has been reported on numerous occasions that the Nerazzurri demand the same amount as was paid for van Dijk for their star, and with the dynamics of the transfer market, this could soon transform into reality and an offer of this magnitude could arrive.

The third defender, who has been on the stage for some time now, is Alessio Romagnoli, captain of Milan. The Rossoneri rejected a £35 million offer for the Roma youth product two years ago, and the player has grown immensely since then.

The player has become a more consistent performer and has earned the captain's armband at his club after Leonardo Bonucci's departure this summer. He is also gaining international experience for Italy and is slowly becoming one of the backbones of the Azzurri team preparing for the European Championship.

For now, it remains a remote hypothesis that Romagnoli leaves Milan, considering how high the new ownership aims. But in football one never knows and perhaps the 23-year-old could leave eventually for what would definitely be no less than the £75 million paid for van Dijk.

Click on the gallery to view the defenders talked about in the paragraphs above.