Manchester City, Liverpool Reportedly Set for Virgil van Dijk 'Auction'

Southampton are reportedly "resigned" to losing centre-back Virgil van Dijk in January and are hoping to boost his transfer fee by pitting Manchester City and Liverpool against each other. 

According to The Times' Paul Joyce, the south-coast club are eager to set up an auction between City and Liverpool to raise as much as £70 million by moving on the 26-year-old. 

After a superb 2016-17 campaign, Van Dijk was heavily linked with Liverpool in the summer and reportedly asked to leave the club for Anfield, per Joyce.

However, the Reds dropped their interest in the Netherlands international and apologised in June after they had been accused by Saints of tapping him up, per David Hytner in the Guardian.

Van Dijk has not been at his best in 2017-18 and was left out of the matchday squad recently by manager Mauricio Pellegrino, who said after Tuesday's 5-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur his absence was a result of ongoing speculation, per Joyce: "I decided it's best for the team as there is a lot of speculation around."

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Despite Liverpool's summer links to Van Dijk, it is City who have been most heavily tipped to sign the defender recently.

James Ducker in the Telegraph reported before Southampton's defeat to Spurs the Sky Blues "are closing in on a £60 million deal" for the Dutchman.

However, there seems little doubt Liverpool will enter the fray to sign Van Dijk should Saints present them with the opportunity.

Jurgen Klopp's side continue to impress going forward, but their ongoing defensive issues seem likely to preclude them from competing for major silverware.

The majority of Liverpool's defenders do not seem to meet the high standard required for a club with Premier League title-winning ambitions, as noted by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville after the Reds squandered a 2-0 lead in Friday's 3-3 draw with Arsenal, per Squawka News:

Van Dijk has been far from his best in the current campaign, but he has, in the main, been excellent in the Premier League since joining Saints in 2015 after a successful spell at Celtic.

He may have had his head turned by speculation, and he could be a huge asset to either City or Liverpool.

The attraction to Van Dijk of joining runaway Premier League leaders and UEFA Champions League favourites City is obvious as he would be almost guaranteed silverware under manager Pep Guardiola.

However, he would move to the Etihad Stadium to join an impressive centre-back unit and would have to fight for his first-team place.

Meanwhile, a switch to Anfield would likely see him become the senior central defender in Klopp's exciting but vulnerable squad.