According to reports in The Guardian, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has told the club's hierarchy that he wants to bring Virgil van Dijk to the Etihad Stadium, and the Dutchman has now been identified as one of their prime targets.

The Spanish boss is keen to bring in a new centre-back during the January transfer window with continued fitness concerns over captain Vincent Kompany, but it remains to be seen whether they are willing to pay the £70m that Southampton want in the New Year, according to The Guardian.

Van Dijk failed to secure the move away from St Mary's that he wanted during the summer after handing in a transfer request just days before the start of the current campaign, and he eventually took his place back in the starting XI in September.

However, doubts were raised over his future when a run of 11 successive Premier League starts came to an end when he was dropped for the trip to Chelsea last weekend.

If van Dijk does leave next month Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino will likely want to bring in a replacement for the Netherlands international, and adding Burnley defender James Tarkowski to his squad could prove to be a shrewd move.

According to The Times, Man City and top flight rivals Arsenal are already both keen on the Clarets centre-back, who has been in impressive form for the division's surprise package.

Here are three reasons Southampton must sign the 25-year-old if Guardiola buys van Dijk…

His statistics

If Southampton lose van Dijk in January, then Pellegrino will know that the Dutchman will leave big boots to fill given he is strong in the air, calm in possession and an all-round good defender – when he is at 100%, of course.

It will be difficult to find an exact carbon copy of the Netherlands international, but Burnley centre-back Tarkowski has shown his defensive abilities so far this term, helping his side keep nine clean sheets in 18 top flight fixtures.

According to WhoScored.com, the 25-year-old has made 28 successful tackles, 30 interceptions, 145 clearances and 36 blocks, while he has shown that he is good on the ball by successfully completing five of the seven dribbles he has attempted.

Potential

Considering he wasn’t really a regular in the Burnley side last season, Tarkowski has been particularly impressive for the sixth-place Clarets this term following the departure of Michael Keane in the summer.

He has played every single minute of their campaign at the heart of the backline – although that run will come to an end after he was hit with a three-match ban after being found guilty of violent conduct – and his form has led him to be on the verge of an England call-up, according to The Times.

At 25 years of age the defender has plenty of time to improve, and he would have the perfect platform to do that on at St Mary’s.

Price tag

Tarkowski only has 18 months left on his Burnley deal, and with no new deal on the table just yet it could mean that the Clarets will be open to selling the 25-year-old if they receive what they feel is an acceptable offer.

The Lancashire outfit managed to get a fee that could rise to £30m for Michael Keane during the summer, which is a fee that Southampton would likely baulk at.

However, the south coast outfit are known to generally get good deals in the transfer market, and they will be confident that they could negotiate and get Tarkowski for a decent price, as long as the likes of Man City and Arsenal don't follow up their initial interest.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.