Virgil van Dijk to turn down Chelsea and Liverpool and join Man City in £60m deal – report – City Watch

Manchester City have won the race to sign Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk in a deal worth £60 million according to Neil Moxley of the Sunday People.

It would be a world record fee for a defender, with the Dutch international reportedly set to sign a five-year deal worth a whopping £200,000-a-week.

Van Dijk will join the Blues when the transfer window opens next month and if the reported fee is true, he would replace John Stones as City and the Premier League’s most expensive defender.

Chelsea and Liverpool also wanted Van Dijk, who City were linked with a move for back in the January window, but Pep Guardiola’s determination to rebuild his squad is leading to a no-holds-barred approach this summer, with targets being wrapped up quickly and efficiently.

Van Dijk is understood to have been impressed by Jurgen Klopp’s vision for Liverpool, but when City presented their offer to him, he couldn’t resist a switch to the Etihad.