REUTERS/Murad Sezer
Liverpool are now willing to make an offer for an "exceptional" player, who has impressed Jurgen Klopp with his performances this season.
Indeed, the Reds are searching for a new centre-back, with Virgil van Dijk's current contract set to expire at the end of the season, although Redmen TV's Dan Clubbe has suggested the Dutchman has done enough to earn a new deal.
Clubbe said: "There were some question marks around his performances last season but he looks back to his best. The longevity and the class is there for all to see. He has become more and more of a leader. I had reservations about his captaincy because he is more of a reserved character than Jordan Henderson and leads by example, but he's proven me wrong."
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Van Dijk has struck up a partnership with Jeremy Jacquet at the heart of defence, and the duo started in the 2-1 victory at Brentford last time out, which saw Andoni Iraola's side leapfrog the Bees in the Premier League table and move up to fifth place.
Iraola's other centre-back options include Ronald Araujo, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni, although the latter has recently suffered an injury setback, after suffering an ACL tear more than one year ago.
It remains to be seen how long it will take Leoni to bounce back from such a long injury lay-off, whereas Araujo's loan deal is set to end at the end of the season, although the Merseyside outfit will have the option to sign the Barcelona defender permanently for around £47m.
Should they decide not to do so, however, it may be important to sign a new centre-back at the end of the season, and the Reds have entered contention to sign a Bundesliga defender.
Liverpool join race to sign Finn Jeltsch
REUTERS/Heiko Becker
According to a report from Sport, Liverpool have now entered contention to sign VfB Stuttgart defender Finn Jeltsch, who is in high demand, with Barcelona and Real Madrid also named as interested parties.
In fact, the Reds are willing to fork out €50m (£42m) to ensure they win the race for Jeltsch's signature, given that he has put in some impressive performances in the Bundesliga this season, having featured in all six of Stuttgart's matches to date.
The 20-year-old is averaging 7.5 defensive contributions per 90, the highest number in the Bundesliga squad, whereas an average of 50.8 accurate passes per 90 ranks him in second place.
Although he is yet to collect a senior cap for Germany, Jeltsch received his first call-up to the squad during the most recent international break, and he has been lauded as "exceptional" by Klopp.
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