Southampton tell Chelsea to pay world record fee for Van Dijk

Southampton have told Chelsea they will need to make Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in the world in order to prise him away from the club, reports Yahoo Sport.

The reigning Premier League champions are expected to be one of the busiest teams in the last month of the transfer window and are ready to step up their interest in Van Dijk.

The Southampton captain has handed in a formal transfer request in order to force through a move away from the club but that hasn’t deterred Mauricio Pellegrino’s side, who still hope to keep the towering defender.

However, Southampton have told Chelsea that they will only consider offers that would make Van Dijk the most expensive defender in the history of football, which leaves Antonio Conte’s side facing the prospect of paying in excess of £55m for the 26-year-old.

Van Dijk, who reportedly wants to join Liverpool, has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League in the last two seasons but hasn’t played competitively since suffering a serious ankle injury in January.

In the last two seasons, Van Dijk has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award more times than any other defender (10).