Barcelona join race for €70m Virgil van Dijk successor

Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements is clear; a new central defender will be a priority in the near future.

Uncertainty surrounding the futures of Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez combined with fact Virgil van Dijk will be 35-years-old by the start of next season make the Reds’ need for defensive signings obvious.

Goivanni Leoni was added last summer, but a brutal ACL injury on his debut cut his season short.

A number of targets are being talked about for January including Joel Ordonez and Marc Guehi, but Liverpool will also be assessing long-term targets ahead of next summer.

Several players are believed to be on Richard Hughes’ list of potential Van Dijk successors, but a European giant has entered the race for one of Liverpool’s priority targets.

Barcelona to challenge Liverpool for Van Dijk successor

One of the biggest names recently linked with a Merseyside move is Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni, a long-time Liverpool target who could finally make the switch to Anfield soon.

Competition for Bastoni’s signature will be fierce though and transfer insider Matteo Moretto has told Spanish outlet Marca that Barcelona are in the race for the Italian defender.

Moretto claims that Barca view Bastoni as a target for the summer and quotes a fee of between €70-80 million, a considerable discount on the record €95 million that had been previously reported.

The report also states that Inter Milan will try and tie Bastoni down with a new contract, so any deal won’t be easy for Liverpool or Barca.

Will Liverpool beat Barcelona to Bastoni’s signature?

Barcelona’s financial struggles have been well documented over the last few years, and this could give the Reds an upper hand in negotiations for Bastoni.

Liverpool showed they are able to spend big last summer, breaking the British transfer record twice in one window, and seeing as signing another centre-half will likely be the top priority next summer they would feel confident in outbidding Barcelona.

If Slot’s side can finish the season well, they will be in a strong position to convince Bastoni to make the switch to England.

Any deal for Bastoni won’t be easy, and a battle between Liverpool and Barcelona for the Italian’s signature looks likely to unfold.

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