Virgil van Dijk has certainly done what Liverpool bought him to.

The former Southampton player has proved to a be a rock and a leader at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s defence and it’s partly thanks to him that the club are in the Champions League final and go into the final day of the domestic season still with a Premier League chance.

Who will be his long term partner hasn’t always been clear and in Barcelona they believe Liverpool may have a very ambitious plan indeed. That’s to pair Van Dijk with his international teammate Matthijs de Ligt.

The Catalan media have been reporting for weeks that the Ajax player is closing in on a move to Barcelona, with it being repeatedly claimed that’s what he wants this summer.

However, the deal isn’t done yet and until it is there’s always the chance someone else could swoop in and snatch him away. Sunday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo says Barcelona ‘suspect’ Liverpool may be ‘tempting’ De Ligt with the prospect of playing alongside his international teammate.

There’s still confidence for Barcelona, perhaps their local media just want to be able to say they ‘beat’ the Premier League club to the signing.

Not that we’d want to encourage any unnecessary excitement… but Van Dijk plays on the left of central defence, and De Ligt on the right so it would work.