Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness believes Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola would have done more to beat Liverpool to the signing of Virgil van Dijk if he had his time again.

The Citizens were vying with the Reds for the Dutch international two years ago but were reportedly unwilling to match the £75m that the Merseysiders paid for the defender.

In hindsight, Souness thinks Guardiola would have asked City’s hierarchy to trump Liverpool’s offer:

“If Guardiola could turn back the clock two years, to the January transfer window of 2018, he would pay a premium to sign Virgil van Dijk, topping the £75 million that Liverpool paid Southampton for him. I said at the time it was a no-brainer.”

Whether van Dijk would have changed his mind if City were more proactive in trying to sign the centre-back, it is up for debate. It seemed clear that despite his failure to secure a move to the Reds in the summer of 2017, that he had his heart set on a switch to Anfield.

It then became an inevitability when Liverpool returned in January 2018 to secure his signature. At the time, though, it must be said that the Citizens were riding high in the league and Vincent Kompany was still at the club.