Chelsea have turned their attention to signing Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk after accepting defeat in their pursuit of Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci, reports The London Evening Standard.
Antonio Conte’s side are currently locked in talks with Juventus about signing Alex Sandro, which will see the Premier League champions pay a world record fee for a defender, and Chelsea were also hopeful of luring Bonucci away from the Old Lady this summer.
However, Juventus have categorically ruled out Bonucci’s departure and Chelsea have now rekindled their interest in Southampton wantaway star Van Dijk as a result.
The Netherlands international was widely expected to join Liverpool earlier this summer only for Jurgen Klopp’s side to put an end to their pursuit after Southampton reported them for tapping up their player.
Van Dijk is believed to want a move to Anfield to work under Jurgen Klopp but Chelsea now have the chance to hi-jack the deal, although it will require the west London outfit to pay in excess of £65m for the centre-back, which would be another world record fee for a defender.
The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining from Celtic in 2015 and it’s no surprise Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have all been chasing his signature.
Despite the fact he has been recovering from ankle ligament damage since January, Van Dijk has won at least four more WhoScored Man of the Match awards than any other defender in the last two Premier League seasons (10).
For more stats on Virgil van Dijk, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
