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Arsenal looking to trump Chelsea & Liverpool with £45m bid

By on July 17, 2017

According to a report in The Sun, Arsenal are looking beat Liverpool and Chelsea to the signing of Virgil van Dijk and are ready to test Southampton’s resolve with an opening £45m offer.

Arsene Wenger is looking to build a squad capable of competing for the title next season and is working on a deal for attacker Thomas Lemar having already signed Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac.

However, the boss is also seemingly wanting to strengthen his options at centre-back and an audacious swoop for van Dijk has been touted in the media in recent weeks.

We finished last season playing a 3-4-2-1 formation and Wenger has confirmed he’ll stick with that system this coming campaign so it looks like he wants plenty of options at the back.

Koscielny has been plagued by Achilles issues in recent years, Gabriel is nursing a serious knee injury and has been linked with a move to Valencia, Mertesacker is in his final season while Chambers is expected to join Crystal Palace so you can understand why Wenger is after another central defender.

It seems the boss has got a big-name target in mind as The Sun are citing a report from the Express that claims Arsenal are lining-up a £45m bid for Southampton skipper van Dijk.

The Dutch international is now one of the best defenders in the Premier League and has been strongly linked with Chelsea and Liverpool this summer [via The Sun] but it looks like Arsenal are trying to pull off a major coup.

I don’t think £45m will be enough to persuade Southampton to sell but we have the finances to go higher if needed and I’d love to see van Dijk come to the Emirates this summer.

READ: Arsenal plotting move for £30m striker

However, we can’t offer him the Champions League football he desires and from what we all read in the papers he still has his sights set on a move to Anfield so I think we’ll see Liverpool get a deal agreed – despite the Merseysiders being forced to issue a public apology for their pursuit of the defender.