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I’d be very okay with getting a center back for the holidays, and according to reports out of Italy, that particular wish may not be as far-fetched as it seemed a week ago. Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij, who the Reds have reportedly been interested in for a while now, looks set to make a decision about his future at the club over this coming weekend.
De Vrij has spent the last three and a half years with Lazio but, with his contract running out at the end of this season, there has been a Can-like impasse between club and player. That impasse is reportedly about to end, however, with de Vrij gearing up to deliver bad news to the Italian club.
With de Vrij’s countryman looking like an increasingly distant prospect for Liverpool (especially as Manchester City and Chelsea begin to circle in as January draws nearer), the club expressing interest in other potential defensive targets is good news all around. Of course, the Reds keeping tabs on de Vrij doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t also still (quietly but ardently) in the market for van Dijk. Maybe the year will end on a high note and we’ll get everything we want. Liverpool will beat Arsenal, we’ll sign van Dijk, and bring in de Vrij for good measure, too.
Alternatively, and probably more likely, the sudden uptick in rumours this close to January is coming from the player’s camp pushing Lazio into offering him a better deal, or trying to push up the player’s price (if Lazio doesn’t bite).
Still, we can dream.