Club Legend Mark Lawrenson Insists Liverpool Will Land Virgil van Dijk in Next 12 Months

Liverpool legend and now TV pundit Mark Lawrenson has insisted Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk will make the switch to the Reds if not in January, then definitely over the summer. 

The 26-year-old centre-back had been heavily linked with a switch to Anfield during the most recent transfer window, with many suspecting, including the 60-year-old, that a deal was to be agreed before the beginning of this campaign. 

However, following the Reds' seemingly unlawful tactics in their attempts to coax the centre-back to the north west, they were forced to apologise to their south coast counterparts and bring an end to their interest. 

But that did not stop the speculation of Van Dijk joining Liverpool, with the player himself adding more fuel to the fire by submitting his own transfer request in a plea with the Saints hierarchy to unblock the move. 

However, the Southampton bosses remained strong, and following his banishing to the youth squads, the Netherlands international has since returned to Mauricio Pellegrino's starting XI. 

The Reds' struggles at the back this year have been well documented, with Jurgen Klopp's outfit conceding 17 goals in 12 Premier League outings so far this term, in addition to the nine they have also seen hit the back of their net in the Champions League. 

But despite Van Dijk being present in Southampton's convincing 3-0 defeat to Liverpool earlier this month, there is still a strong belief that the former Celtic man could well shore up the leaky Merseysiders' defence, something that Lawrenson believes is simply just a matter of time. 

“He knows there is work to be done”, the 60-year-old told Newstalk, as quoted by The Sport Review. “Maybe if not in January, next year. Van Dijk will come and sign for Liverpool. They will improve.”