Matthijs de Ligt is the kind of player that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp “should be targeting”, says John Aldridge, while the success being enjoyed at Anfield should appeal to the Ajax defender.
A move to Merseyside has been mooted for a man attracting admiring glances from across Europe.
With Virgil van Dijk already on Liverpool’s books, it has been suggested that a move should be made to unite him with a Netherlands international team-mate.
Any approach will not come cheap, though, with mounting interest in the 19-year-old centre-half set to keep pushing his asking price up.
Liverpool would also face plenty of competition were they to make a formal bid.
Barcelona have been credited with leading the chase, while big-spending Paris Saint-Germain are also in the mix and Cristiano Ronaldo has requested that De Ligt joins him at Juventus.
Klopp, though, boasts a Champions League-winning squad at his disposal and Aldridge believes that could work in the Reds’ favour were they to join the scramble for a much sought-after signature.
The ex-Liverpool striker told the Irish Independent: "Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt have formed a great defensive partnership with the Netherlands and I'm sure they would like to build on that at Liverpool.
"Any player who saw the way Liverpool won the Champions League this season and the incredible scenes on the streets of the city as the team returned home would want a piece of that, and De Ligt is the kind of player that Klopp should be targeting.
"Liverpool should go after him."
De Ligt is yet to make a decision on where his next move will take him.
He has stated that he will take in a well-earned break before making a call on his future.
There has, however, been a hint that he may snub Barcelona, with the Dutchman admitting that now may not be the right time to head for Camp Nou.
Those comments will be keeping other sides interested, with Goal having revealed that Juventus are refusing to give up the chase.
Manchester United are another of those to have been linked with a summer swoop, and the Red Devils are prepared to invest heavily in fresh faces this summer – particularly in their pursuit of defensive reinforcements.