Van Dijk 2.0? – Liverpool reportedly eyeing 2026 move for ‘man mountain’ who Isak knows well | OneFootball

Almost eight years on from the transformative signing of Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool may be eyeing a similar coup in 2026.

The current captain was 26 years old when the Reds paid £75m to sign him from Southampton midway through the 2017/18 campaign (BBC Sport), and we’ve duly benefitted from the best years of his glittering career at Anfield.

The Merseysiders have been linked with further centre-back raids on fellow Premier League clubs, with Marc Guehi among the most prominent targets and Murillo also understood to be on Richard Hughes’ shortlist, and it appears that they’re not the only English top-flight options being considered.

Liverpool have Sven Botman ‘on their list’ of centre-back targets

On Monday afternoon, Mark Brus outlined for the Daily Briefing that Liverpool ‘looked at (but didn’t move for)’ Sven Botman in the summer transfer window, and it’s understood that the Newcastle defender is ‘still on their list’.

However, a source for the publication warned that repeat transfer business with the Magpies ‘won’t be straightforward’ after the fractious chain of events which led to Alexander Isak’s British record £125m move from St James’ Park to Anfield a few weeks ago.

(Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Could Botman be the second coming of Van Dijk at Liverpool?

The prospect of Eddie Howe’s side selling another player to the Reds so soon after the Swedish striker seems unlikely, but it isn’t hard to see why the Premier League champions would be interested in a raid for Botman.

If Liverpool were to land the defender in 2026, it’d have strong echoes of the Van Dijk transfer in terms of recruiting a towering Dutch centre-back in his mid-20s from a fellow top-flight club (which Southampton were at that time).

Indeed, Howe has described Newcastle’s number 4 as a ‘man mountain’ and ‘physical beast’ (Chronicle Live), which is unsurprising given that the 25-year-old is 6 foot 4 in stature and (as per FBref) ranks among the top 7% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for aerial duels won per 90 minutes with 3.37.

Botman also ranks highly with his match averages for tackles, interceptions, blocks and clearances (FBref), while his manager has spoken highly of the Dutchman’s passing range and ‘outstanding character’ in the dressing room (Chronicle Live).

The colossal Magpies centre-back would tick many boxes for Liverpool, whose need for recruitment in that area of the pitch was amplified by the horrific ACL injury to Giovanni Leoni.

Persuading Newcastle to sell could be fiendishly difficult after the saga involving his former teammate Isak, but it’s a challenge that Hughes would happily take on if he feels that there’s any chance of landing the former Lille man next year.

You can watch Slot’s post-Chelsea press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: