- Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk is expected to be linked with a move in January
- Mauricio Pellegrino dropped Van Dijk for Southampton’s clash against Chelsea
- The Dutch defender had been heavily linked with a summer move to Liverpool
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has urged Premier League clubs to do everything they can to beat Manchester City to the signing of Virgil van Dijk.
The Southampton centre back was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool in the summer and is expected to be wanted by several of the Premier League big boys again when the transfer window opens in January.
On Saturday, Van Dijk was dropped to the bench for Southampton’s clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and afterwards, Mauricio Pellegrino admitted he could leave in January.
Virgil van Dijk could end up leaving Southampton in the January transfer window
Antonio Conte has urged Premier League rivals to compete with Man City to sign Van Dijk
And Conte has urged every club who wants to sign Van Dijk to do their best to make sure City don’t acquire his services and further extend the gap between them and the rest of the English top flight.
‘Every team, every club, must pay great attention,’ Conte said. ‘Because if a club like Manchester City takes all the best [players], it will be very difficult for us to fight. Not only in England but in Europe.’
The 26-year-old was eager to force a move away from the south coast in the summer after handing in a transfer request.
However, Southampton’s £70million asking price proved prohibitive, despite concrete interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and City.
Chelsea boss Conte said if City take the best players, ‘it will be very difficult’ to fight with them