Chelsea to enter fray for Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk?

Southampton’s want away defender Virgil van Dijk continues to be in the headlines with current Premier League champions Chelsea considering a £50m bid.

Van Dijk, whose transfer speculation has been dominated by reported interest from Liverpool, could see his ‘dream move’ hijacked by the Blues.

According to Matt Hughes in the Times, Chelsea are set to go head-to-head with Liverpool for the defender’s signature.

Chelsea has already spent £29m on Antonio Rudiger, but with Champions League football to contend with this summer, Antonio Conte could be pursuing another defender.

Southampton has repeatedly insisted that van Dijk, 26, is not for. However, a deal with someone other than Liverpool might not be out of the realm of possibility, as the situation draws on.

Van Dijk has consistently been one of the top centre backs in the league since moving to Southampton in 2015.

Southampton has done little business during the transfer to immediately address any situation should van Dijk be sold, despite bringing in 21-year-old defender Jan Bednarek.

Van Dijk has not trained with the Southampton first-team since 21st July, and has not featured in any of the club’s friendlies.

Saints were defeated 4-0 by German side FC Augsburg on Wednesday which has heightened the need to resolve the current situation in a timely manner.