Chelsea Joins Race to Sign Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk has been linked with a move away from Southampton ever since the season ended. But so far, the club has been doing their best to hold off his suitors. They even got Liverpool in trouble when they lodged an official complaint with the Premier League over the Reds' alleged illegal approach for the centre-back.
Southampton managed to make Liverpool back off a bit, but the Dutch footballer still has a number of suitors and one of them may be closing in on his signature.
According to Sky Italy, Chelsea have launched a £60 million bid for van Dijk and they are reportedly edging closer to sealing the deal with Southampton. However, Goal's Nizaar Kinsella said a deal is nowhere close to being finalized because Southampton are reluctant to sell their star centre-back at this point in the transfer market.
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Apparently, the Blues are willing to let Nathan Aké join Bournemouth on a permanent transfer if they get van Dijk. Kinsella also said that Southampton appear to be interested in Aké, but it's not clear if he's included in the negotiations between them and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, The Guardian's Dominic Fifield has reported that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is urging the club to sign either Leonardo Bonucci or van Dijk. The Dutch centre-back is the younger option, but the Blues reportedly don't spend more than £50 million for a player who has only made 12 appearances for the senior Dutch national team.
Fifield added that Chelsea may include Aké in the deal to bring van Dijk to West London. That should lower the asking price for the centre-back.
Several reports say van Dijk prefers to join Liverpool, though, so the Blues may find it difficult to convince him to sign with them.
If van Dijk joins the Blues, he will compete for a spot in the first-team with Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill.
