What’s the story?
Chelsea have a launched a £60 million bid to sign Southampton defender, Virgil Van Dijk. Daily Express claim that the Blues are going 'all out' in order to secure the signing of the Dutch international as interest in the defender mounts.
Antonio Conte wants to sign a defender in January to replace the outgoing John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic. The Chelsea duo have their contracts expiring in the summer and Conte wants to replace them this month itself.
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Chelsea have been on a roll in the Premier League winning their last 13 matches on a trot. But their manager is said to be on the look out to strengthen their defence even more.
The Blues have conceded just 3 goals in their last 13 matches after having conceded 10 in their first 6 matches. Conte changed the formation from 4-2-4 to a 3-4-3 after their humiliating defeat at Emirates and since then, they have not lost a single game in the league.
David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta have been doing a tremendous job at the heart of the defence while Moses and Alonso have been running the show on the wings but Conte wants to add more competition as he only has John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Kurt Zouma to replace the starting trio.
The heart of the matter
Van Dijk is having a great season at Southampton and has caught the eye of several managers around the United Kingdom and Europe. The Saints captain has been awarded 'Man of the Match' in 4 matches this season including their hard fought draw at Manchester City.
Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have also been linked with the Dutch defender but Chelsea are reportedly the only club to have made a move for him. Southampton are reluctant to sell their star player once again but the £60 million bid might be hard for them to turn down.
Southampton manager, Claude Puel has also made it clear that Van Dijk is a ‘very important’ player for The Saints and he wants him to remain at the club. “Van Dijk is a very important player for us and he will stay here. It’s important for him to continue his work.” said the Southampton manager.
What next?
Chelsea's £60 million bid is their highest ever for a player. If they manage to sign him, they will break their transfer record of £50 million - the fee they paid to lure Fernando Torres from Liverpool.
The Blues recently sold Oscar to Chinese Super League side, Shanghai SIPG for £60 million and the board is ready to allow Conte to invest the money elsewhere straight away. The London side have also been linked with a move to sign James Rodriguez as a replacement for Oscar but recent reports suggest Conte’s top target in January is a defender.
Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will not let Van Dijk join Chelsea easily and would put up a fight for him. The Manchester clubs have a lot of defensive problems and are looking for reinforcements. Eric Bailly is off to the AFCOn for Manchester United while Vincent Kompany's injury is a big concern for Manchester City.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Van Dijk would be a brilliant addition to the Chelsea squad and would make them even more solid at the back. The question does arise as to who Conte would bench for the Dutchman.
Mourinho and Guardiola will do all they can to convince their respective boards to sign Van Dijk while Southampton would try and convince the defender to reject a move away and stay at the club.
