Chelsea
Klopp Blow: Chelsea Favourites Ahead Of Liverpool To Sign £70m Star
Southampton won’t be bullied in to selling Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool and the £70m defender is more likely to join Chelsea before the end of the month
Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the final weeks of the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on Virgil van Dijk’s future….
Southampton won’t be bullied in to selling Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool and the £70m-rated defender is now more likely to join Chelsea before the end of the month, according to Yahoo Sport.
Van Dijk went public with his desire to leave St Mary’s after issuing a statement last week confirming he’d handed in a formal transfer request after expressing his frustration that the Saints had rebuffed several offers for his services.
The Dutch international has been training with the youth squad is recent weeks after being exiled from the first team as speculation linking him with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea continues to disrupt Southampton’s early season plans.
Jurgen Klopp has been desperate to lure van Dijk to Anfield but a proposed move was derailed earlier in the summer when Southampton reported Liverpool to the Premier League for tapping-up the defender.
The Merseysiders vowed to end their pursuit after issuing a public apology but they have retained their interest in the hope that Southampton will eventually agree to do business amicably.
However, Yahoo Sport claims that while van Dijk has told Southampton his preference is to play under Klopp, the Saints are refusing to be bullied in to selling their skipper to Liverpool as they are still furious with their behaviour earlier in the summer.
The report says Southampton may have been open to doing business in June had van Dijk, his agent and Liverpool conducted themselves better but now they are refusing to sell to the Merseysiders after they held unsolicited talks with the defender.
Southampton are still hoping van Dijk will be integrated back in to the squad but Yahoo Sports claim they will reluctantly cash-in if an offer in the region of £70m arrives with Chelsea now the players most likely destination.
Antonio Conte is desperate to strengthen his squad before the window closes and Yahoo Sport suggest the Premier League champions will be able to sign the 26-year-old if they meet Southampton’s lofty valuation.
This news comes after the Mirror reported over the weekend that Chelsea were increasingly confident of winning the race to sign the Dutchman so it looks like the Blues are now emerging as the front-runners.
READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Liverpool transfer news
We’ll have to wait and see how things progress over the coming days but obviously van Dijk would be a superb signing for Chelsea if they do manage to lure him to Stamford Bridge before the end of the month.
