Chelsea boosted in Virgil van Dijk pursuit with Liverpool chief Jurgen Klopp to pull out of deal
German will place faith in his current defenders if Southampton do not change their stance on Holland ace
LIVERPOOL are prepared to give up on their pursuit of Virgil van Dijk - leaving Chelsea free to pounce.
The Southampton defender - who is currently training alone - is wanted by both Premier League clubs this summer and will likely cost upwards of £50million.
But Jurgen Klopp is now ready to give up the chase and place his faith in his current back-four.
Reports suggest Southampton would rather sell to Chelsea than Liverpool after accusing the Reds of tapping up their star man.
The Anfield outfit issued a grovelling apology for the way they tried to sign Van Dijk - which was accepted by Saints.
Klopp has funds available to smash Liverpool's transfer record after being knocked back in his £66m bid for RB Leipzig star Naby Keita, and will move for Van Dijk, 26, if Southampton change their mind.
But the German is well equipped with defenders, with Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez all fit for the season.
He said: "We have four centre-backs. I don’t think we need more.
Liverpool transfer news
“Just at the moment I’m fine. The transfer market is open until the 31st of August.
“We cannot force things and we would never get a centre-back just because someone is available.
“Look out there and tell me five that would make us stronger. Then you win a prize! It’s difficult.
“I’m happy. You can imagine we still work on different things and we will see if it works.
“I am here to work with this squad and not just always thinking, ‘But if we don’t get this or this’.”
Chelsea, meanwhile, are ready to bid £50m for Van Dijk.
But Southampton chief Les Reed insists the 6ft 3in Holland defender is NOT for sale.
Speaking on the speculation surrounding Van Dijk and team-mate Cedric Soares, he rapped: "None of those players are for sale.
“I can't make it any plainer than that and that's the way we mean to go forward.
“We built this squad over some time and think we have a strong squad.
"We will fine-tune it but, other than that, we are looking forward to a very competitive season next year and we plan to go forward on that basis."
