revealed The three players Liverpool wanted if they failed to sign Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool drew up a shortlist of four players when they started the hunt for a new central defender last season, which resulted in the Reds signing Virgil van Dijk.
The Anfield club spent £75million on Van Dijk at the beginning of this year, bringing him in from Southampton.
He has since established himself as perhaps the best centre-half in the Premier League, while he is also widely regarded as one of the best in the world.
The Reds were long-term admirers of Van Dijk having scouted the Netherlands international since he was at Celtic, whom he joined from Groningen in 2013, and their perseverance has paid off, with Van Dijk arriving on Merseyside and helping Liverpool become serious title contenders.
However, they were not always confident of signing Van Dijk, and a shortlist was created by Liverpool featuring other central defenders the club were ready to sign.
Latest Football News Saiss the day Coady the hero as Wolves grab late equaliser to deny Fulham valuable win GOING FOR GAZ West Ham United fail with £6.5m bid for ex-Cardiff City flop Team News Martial misses out in Solskjaer's first Old Trafford game as United boss Anfield boost Alexander-Arnold back in the Liverpool starting line-up THEY'RE BACK Leicester City vs Man City: Confirmed teams as Aguero and De Bruyne start line-ups Tottenham vs Bournemouth: Confirmed teams as Spurs are without Alli and start KWP LIVE ON TS 2 Sheffield United v Derby County: Confirmed line-ups and live commentary stream ANFIELD CLASH Liverpool vs Newcastle confirmed teams for Anfield clash welcome home Man United v Huddersfield: Confirmed line-ups for Premier League clash CRUCIAL CLASH Leicester City vs Manchester City: Match preview and confirmed teams expect goals Tottenham vs Bournemouth: Alli out, preview, confirmed teams, plus more strange days The bizarre Arsenal record Tottenham can match on Boxing Day
According to The Times , the shortlist featured four ‘A grade’ targets and four ‘B grade’ targets, the latter being youngsters who could become ‘A grade’ players in the future.
Van Dijk was top of the ‘A grade’ shortlist, with alternatives to the Dutchman including Kalidou Kouliably, the Napoli ace, and Bayern Munich and Germany’s Jerome Boateng.
The final ‘A grade’ option was Aymeric Laporte, who signed for Manchester City 30 days after Van Dijk became a Liverpool player.
Laporte played for Athletic Club prior to joining City, and Liverpool felt he was a fine option to become a first-choice central defender for a title challenging side.
Pep Guardiola clearly agreed with Liverpool’s assessment of Laporte, as the 24-year-old has become an almost guaranteed starter for City in his first year at the Etihad.