05 August, 2017
The Dutch global is in-demand after an impressive stint at St Mary's since joining from Celtic for £15million in September 2015.
The Times believe that Antonio Conte has been keen to add Van Dijk to his ranks since January, but has had to convince the Chelsea board to lodge a concrete offer for him.
Whether Van Dijk will feature remains to be seen. And that situation doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon, despite recent reports of So'ton wanting to kiss and make up.
Chelsea hope Liverpool's poor relationship with Saints will work to their advantage.
It seems that Southampton made a decision to terminate this cooperation, because the Reds were negotiating with the 26-year-old behind their back.
Liverpool were thought to be closing in on a deal to sign the Netherlands global before Southampton reported the Reds to the Premier League over their pursuit of Van Dijk.
But Klopp's side are still frontrunners to sign the former Celtic centre-back. As it stands, Van Dijk doesn't want to play for Southampton, but Southampton don't want to sell to Liverpool.
However, new Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has reiterated his stance with Van Dijk, claiming that he is happy to wait until the defender wants to be part of the team before reuniting him with the rest of the squad.
Saints' first Premier League match of the season comes on August 12 as they host Swansea.
