Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Virgil van Dijk and Ederson

Southampton star Virgil van Dijk would reportedly prefer to sign for Manchester City rather than Chelsea, but he could cost £40 million after Saints boss Claude Puel insisted he is not for sale.

According to the Daily Record, both City and Chelsea have expressed interest in the Dutchman, who would opt for the former in order to team up with Citizens manager Pep Guardiola.

Per Alex Crook of the same outlet, Southampton will put a £40 million price tag on his head as he does not have a £25 million release clause as previously believed, as confirmed by Puel: "It is not true. After this I will make no comment about speculation, just to say that Virgil is an important player for the team. For me it’s not a possibility to see him leave."

Van Dijk has enjoyed an outstanding season and earned a reputation as one of the best defenders in the Premier League. BBC Sport pundit Robbie Savage believes as much:

Squawka Football shared the numbers behind a typically all-action performance from the 25-year-old against Middlesbrough on Sunday:

The Netherlands international is a robust, yet composed, presence at the back, powerful in the air and an excellent ball-winner; his reading of the game is also outstanding.

City have need of such a defender as they've often struggled this season, as ESPN FC's Miguel Delaney noted:

Vincent Kompany is no longer reliable due to injuries, Nicolas Otamendi has been slightly disappointing since his arrival from Valencia and the inexperienced John Stones still has a tendency to make catastrophic errors on occasion.

Van Dijk would be a strong candidate to improve Guardiola's defensive options and still has his peak years as a centre-back still to come—in today's market, £40 million isn't a ridiculous price to pay for a player of his quality.

Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Meanwhile, City are already reportedly considering the recruitment of a replacement for the struggling Claudio Bravo and could be set to activate Benfica goalkeeper Ederson's £25 million release clause in January, according to Igor Goncalves of Portuguese outlet ZeroZero.pt (h/t Metro's Mark Brus).

The Chilean was brought in over the summer at the expense of Joe Hart for his technical skills, but the former Barcelona man has thus far struggled to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League.

Squawka Football gave an insight into the difficulties he's facing:

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Ederson has been excellent for Benfica this season, per Portuguese football expert Jan Hagen:

According to Portuguese outlet A Bola (h/t Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness), City sent a "high official" to scout the 'keeper in the Lisbon derby on Sunday, which Benfica won 2-1.

Ederson is a promising young goalkeeper with a bright future ahead of him, but after splashing out £17 million on Bravo in the summer, it seems unlikely Guardiola would be willing to replace him so soon even if he hasn't been overly impressive since his arrival.