Liverpool are ready to provide Chelsea a tough competition in the race to sign Virgil van Dijk, if the Dutch defender decides to leave Southampton in the summer.
According to reports from the Evening Standard, both Chelsea and Liverpool are in the market to sign at least one top centre-back, and Van Dijk is at the top of their wish-lists.
Last December, Claude Puel denied reports that Van Dijk had a £25m release clause in his contract. The Saints would demand a transfer fee in the region of £50m, the amount Manchester City paid Everton to sign John Stones last summer.