Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is reportedly keen on making a move for Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk this summer.

Van Dijk was a mainstay in the Southampton back line since his move from Celtic at the beginning of last season until he got injured in January. The 25-year-old had put in a series of impressive performances, matching strong, vigilant defensive play with a calm and composed playing style on the ball. With the nature of his injury it could be that the Dutchman will not return this season. Therefore Virgil may have played his last game for the Saints should he leave this summer as seems likely given the amount of teams interested in him plus the reported £40 million valuation on him which Southampton will probably not be able to decline based upon their usual strategy in the transfer market.

Interested parties are rivals Man City, Man United and Liverpool who are all said to be keeping a close eye on the Dutchman’s situation.

Although Chelsea, alongside Tottenham, have the best defensive record in the Premier League this year, van Dijk would still be an excellent addition to their squad. With John Terry likely to depart in the summer, and European football back on the agenda, Chelsea will need to sign reinforcements in the summer to make sure they have adequate options and back-ups for the entire campaign.

The Blues have been incredibly lucky with injuries this year, next season this may not be the case so having 5 quality players to cover the 3 centre back positions is a must. In Cahill, Azpelicueta, Luiz, Zouma and potentially van Dijk, they would have the strongest set of centre backs in the league.

With van Dijk’s long-term future very much up in the air, there are many reasons why he should leave Southampton and snub the rest to join Chelsea this summer.

Firstly, he’d get to play with truly world-class players like Hazard, Pedro, Costa and Willian plus he would be playing for a manager in Antonio Conte who has earned rave reviews from the Chelsea team and clearly is destined to bring more silverware to West London in addition to the likely double of the Premier League trophy and FA Cup that the Blues will secure this campaign.

Furthermore, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is likely to back Conte big-time in the summer, to reward him for such an impressive first season and give him everything he wants to be in with a chance of winning the Champions League. As a result, there’s sure to be plenty more superstars on the way in the future. Playing alongside such talented players is something that is going to appeal to van Dijk.

With so many admirers, the Dutchman will have a big decision to make this summer. Joining the League champions, who play a formation van Dijk is bound to thrive in is a virtual no brainer, plus playing for Antonio Conte means you would have to think he’d be mad not to take the offer from the Blues ahead of his other suitors.