We are just one week away from the start of the January transfer window, and Manchester City will be involved in a lot of rumors. All of the big names will be linked to City, Pep Guardiola is going to be asking for a million players (according to the press), and the club will be "ready to break the bank" for every big star in the sport.
But don't be fooled, Manchester City only really need one player. His name is Virgil Van Dijk.
The Southampton center-back has been linked with City for a while, and it totally makes sense. If you look at the transfer rumor angle, it ticks all the boxes: he's a great player, he will be expensive, he's Dutch (which always helps) and he's a Southampton star. Just link him to a Premier League giant!
From the actual football angle, it also makes all the sense in the world. Van Dijk is PERFECT for City. Here's why.
First of all, he's a really freaking great defender. And that's exactly what City need. The defense continues to leak goals (just three Premier League clean sheets this season), it lacks size, composure and leadership, and Van Dijk offers all of that. He's a brute force, a strong player who's surprisingly fast and has great sense of anticipation. Defensively, he's just incredible.
But you can't just be a super amazing defender to Pep Guardiola. Just look at his best CBs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Gerard Piqué and Jerome Boateng. Both of them are amazing defenders, sure, but both of them are fantastic passers for their position. You have to be good with the ball, able to play out from the back and send some long, precise diagonal passes to the opposite side when necessary.
Is Van Dijk good at that? Hell yeah.
Virgil Van Dijk is good at everything, a perfect defender who can do it all. Money is not a problem for City, and Van Dijk will leave for a big price tag. It's just what happens with Southampton stars.
Other clubs will be in for him, so just get the deal done, City. Just do it. Please.