MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, November 28, 2015: Southampton's Virgil Van Dijk in action against Manchester City during the Premier League match at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Betting suspended on Virgil van Dijk transfer to Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk is perhaps Liverpool’s biggest transfer target of the summer, and one major bookmaker has suspended bets on the move.

In news which Reds fans will alternately take as a precursor to an impending announcement or a marketing gimmick, a leading bookmaker has announced a suspension on their market of Virgil van Dijk moving to Liverpool.

Liverpool have been chasing the Southampton centre-back and are locked in a three-way battle with Chelsea and Manchester City to land the Dutchman, rated at around £50 million.

Comfortably a club transfer record if the deal goes ahead for the reported fee, van Dijk would be expected to lead a defence which has proven all too leaky and inconsistent for the past few seasons.

The 25-year-old has been out since January with a knee injury, missing the League Cup final with his side as a result, but his consistency and technical qualities over the past couple of seasons have made him the most-wanted defender in the Premier League.

Earlier, there had been reports that Liverpool were willing to match the wages on offer for van Dijk from both Chelsea and City, per the Echo.

That could land the defender up to £200,000 per week, though the suggestion is that finances will be far from the decisive factor in the his decision.

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