Reds fans here in the Tavern are becoming increasingly optimistic, as they weigh up the possible fresh faces that could be making their way to Anfield. 

Liverpool have been at the spearhead of a mixed bag of performances at times this season, sitting just outside of the Champions League places due to the mishap being mostly down to their own defensive mistakes.

One criticism that sparked around Anfield at the close of the summer transfer window was the inability of Jurgen Klopp to splash out on a central defender. After being on the receiving end of many defensive frailties last season, you’d think this was a must for the Merseyside team, but just didn’t appear to be on the German manager’s shortlist.

Almost every time a defensive mistake is made, the actions from the last transfer window come back to haunt Klopp, with an unforgiving Anfield crowd wanting nothing but success for their side.

Indeed, the disaster was first created when they set their sights toward Southampton central defender Virgil Van Dijk. Obviously, it eventually turned into a nightmare.

After spending so much time chasing a player whose club went on to claim that the Reds had attempted to tap up their player, so blocked off any involvement in the deal, there was nowhere left to run in the search for a new defender.

But in recent times, The Mirror linked Klopp with making another push for the Dutchman.

Due to all of the hassle and accusations that have been thrown Liverpool’s way, here’s THREE reasons as to why they should rethink their pursuit of Van Dijk…

Previous Performances

Back in the summer, Virgil Van Dijk returned from his injury, which sidelined him for around 6 months.

With his future having been swinging in the wind, the closure of the transfer window meant that the central defender was set to live out his time at St Mary’s until the January transfer window at least, making him fairly settled for six months.

Since returning from the injury room, he’s managed to appear just a few imes for the club, in what has been a difficult campaign. During that time, Southampton haven’t exactly lived the best of lives, having flattered to deceive in both attack and defence.

Surely he can’t be worth all the fuss?

Weighing up their options

Reports in The Sun over the past couple of days have seen links emerging for a possible hijack mission that would see Pep Guardiola and his City side try and draw Van Dijk to the Etihad.

Our punters here in the Tavern have gathered a range of mixed reviews on this particular topic, due to many different propositions and positives to come out of this news.

Of course, added interest from the league leaders could quite easily persuade Van Dijk to move to Manchester, in what would provide him with both a bigger wage and an increased chance of a title.

What would mean Liverpool shouldn’t waste their time on chasing the services of the defender, cause after all that didn’t exactly get Klopp and his team very far in the last window.

Save their money

Liverpool’s owners have always been fond of giving the suitable manager the correct amount of funds to mount a title challenge, yet the business done in previous transfer windows just hasn’t been as good as they’d have liked.

Originally the board fully backed the quest to sign Virgil Van Dijk after his run of impressive form made him one of the Premier League’s best defenders. Although money doesn’t really pose any sort of problem for the Merseyside team, Liverpool were quoted to have readied a £60 million bid for the defender back in August, perhaps ending up being seen as an excessive amount.

For a man who has seen his performances dip of late, would a world-record fee for a defender really be worth it?

So Liverpool fans, thoughts?