Antonio Conte lifted the Premier League title in his first year in England but in his second, his side is struggling to keep up with Manchester City at the top of the league table, and are now only fighting for a place in the top-4. Pep Guardiola’s men have been in scintillating form this season and are yet to lose a game. They may have already won the league before Christmas, having opened up a 11 point gap over Manchester United in the second place.
They seem too hard to beat for any team in the Premier League but City have time and again shown that they are not a complete squad. There are a few areas of concern for Guardiola, especially at the back and one player he is reportedly eying, to solve these problems is Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk.
The Southampton CB is easily one of the best defenders in the Premier League and is was wanted by every top club in England. The Saints managed to keep him back at the club beyond the deadline day, even under extensive interests from Liverpool but reports have continued to link the 26-year old with an exit in January.
Recent reports now claim that Manchester City have retained their interest in the £70m rated man and are ready to make a bid for him in January. This seemed to have upset the Italian manager Conte.
Speaking to the media recently, the former Juventus man felt that it is time club come out and stop Manchester City from acquiring their top transfer targets. While it is one way to stop them, as Liverpool have been trying hard to, was that Conte’s hint of his side’s interest in the Southampton player?
A few publications seem to believe that Conte will also make a move for the 26-year old in January and there are a few reasons to believe it to be true. The manager spent on Antonio Rudiger in the summer transfer window, deciding to send Kurt Zouma out on loan.
However, the German international has just not shown enough consistency to cement a place in the starting XI, half-way into his first season in England. To add to it, the manager’s problems with Brazilian international David Luiz, has only made Chelsea problems at the back even worse.
Van Dijk, who already has 67 PL appearances and 16 international appearances, is an experienced, established centre-back, who can walk into some of the best clubs in Europe. He may be out of form from the start of this season but he is unsettled after a turbulent summer and if he can settle into a new club, he is sure to compete to be the best in his role.
So it not too hard to understand why Conte would also want to get his hands on the Dutchman. Thomas Christensen, who has actually been terrific at the back whenever called upon, has played far too many games for Conte’s liking but do you think Chelsea will come out and spend £70m for Van Dijk to solve their problems?
