Liverpool can realise Belgian ace’s Champions League dream

There are plenty of rewards for Champions League qualification, not least being able to attract a certain class of player vying to test themselves at the highest level.

Now that’s in the bag for Liverpool – who are the resounding 1/6 favourites to lift the Premier League title with three games remaining – disgruntled Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen could be one such opportunist pluck for the Reds.

Although whispers suggest the Merseysiders will face stiff competition for Vertonghen’s signature from a string of other big clubs, with Barcelona, Roma and Zenit St Petersburg all honing in.

At 27, the World Cup-bound centre-back is in the prime of his career and this next move is a massive one, though Liverpool should hold plenty of appeal.

The main reason being, that the unsettled Spurs star knows the Premier League particularly well.

But also because the Reds harbour a real desire to add another high-class centre-back to the ranks, to help cure their susceptibility to leaking goals.

Vertonghen’s potential arrival could see him replace Daniel Agger or potentially Mohamed Sakho as a regular partner to the reinvigorated Martin Skrtel.

While Agger remains the vice captain at Anfield, the Dane has not found himself in Brendan Rodgers’ favour this season, fuelling plenty of speculation he could leave this summer.

As for Sakho, it’s unlikely that the club will be hasty to flog a player they spent £18m on at the start of the season, but the giant Frenchman is most definitely a work in progress.

Whether or not Vertonghen will be part of a much wider White-Hart-Lane exodus in the summer remains to be seen, but without Champions League football next season, some other top players will surely seek pastures new also.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.