Liverpool legend Graeme Souness admits to being an “enormous fan” of Southampton's Virgil van Dijk and says he will be disappointed if the Reds don't land the centre-back in the summer transfer window.
Reds 8/13 to beat Watford in PL opener
The Anfield side boasted one of the best attacking units in the 2016/17 Premier League season under Jurgen Klopp, but defensive issues saw them ship 42 goals across the campaign, prompting fans to call for reinforcements at the back.
Liverpool initially pursued in-demand Netherlands international Van Dijk, but had to publicly apologise to Southampton after being accused of illegally tapping up the player and officially ended their interest.
Further reports speculate that Liverpool have not yet given up on signing Van Dijk, however, and Souness feels that it would be extremely disappointing to see his former club miss out on their number one transfer target ahead of what will be a hugely busy season for Klopp and his charges.
“A new centre-half, that would have been the main one for me,” Souness told talkSPORT when quizzed on where Liverpool need to strengthen.
“If I was manager of Liverpool at this time I would have pushed the boat out and done whatever you had to do to get the boy Van Dijk.
“It looks like Southampton are digging their heels in, but they do sell players, they have done consistently over the last few years.
“I’m an enormous fan of Van Dijk, I would love for him to go to Liverpool. When a player makes things look easy, that tells you they’re really good at what they do.
“Whoever gets him would improve them greatly, and it’ll be a shame if it’s not Liverpool. But, it may still happen, we don’t know.”
Klopp himself has urged patience across the summer as there has been little movement in terms of official signings, with Liverpool's pursuit of another high-profile target, Naby Keita, being drawn out by RB Leipzig, who are keen to hold onto the Guinea international.
Even Souness, however, who has been a manager himself, is becoming frustrated by the perceived lack of movement.
Klopp: Sturridge sharpest I've ever seen him
“Liverpool are still a bit off challenging for the title - I would have liked to have seen a bit more action,” he added.
“With the demands of the Champions League next year, if two or three players get knocks and aren’t playing all the time that could badly damage them.
“I don’t think they’ve got enough strength in depth to make a real impression in the two big trophies.”