Chelsea in for Van Dijk

Chelsea are keen to win the race to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, according to the Daily Star.

The Netherlands centre-back has been strongly linked with a move away from St Mary’s Stadium all summer with Liverpool leading the chase.

However, the champions are keen to secure his services after starting their title defence by shipping three goals at home to Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

Van Dijk missed the Saints opening day draw with Swansea City with a virus and certainly appears to have played his last game for the club which came back in January – a 3-0 win over Leicester City.

He missed the rest of the season through injury and has been working on his fitness by training away from Mauricio Pellegrino’s first team squad.

Since signing from Celtic in the summer of 2015, Van Dijk has made sixty-eight appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals.