The Van Dijk fight continues – Odds have Chelsea ahead of Liverpool

While it’s widely expected that Virgil van Dijk will leave Southampton this summer, it’s far less certain where the Dutchman will go.

And the odds suggest there’s still a battle to be fought for his signature.

Chelsea lead the way at 7/4, with Antonio Conte on the lookout for a successor to John Terry and Gary Cahill as they prepare for the Champions League.

But Liverpool are right in the mix at 5/2, as Jurgen Klopp looks to improve on a defence which has conceded 42 Premier League goals this term.

Those two appear to be the main contenders, with the market then drifting to Manchester City at 6/1.

A move to Everton is next at 7/1, with the key component there being Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, who brought Van Dijk to England from Celtic in 2015.

Manchester United are 8/1 to bring the 25-year-old to Old Trafford, ahead of Arsenal at 9/1 and Tottenham at 12s.

Van Dijk’s contract with Southampton still five years left to run, and with a valuation on transfermarkt.co.uk of £21.25m, he won’t come cheap.

And having spent a comparatively modest £13m to bring him down from Celtic two years ago, Southampton are set to make a sizeable profit this summer.

The latest reports claim Liverpool may even break their transfer record to bring in the centre-back, which currently stands at £38.5m – which they paid to the Saints last summer for Sadio Mane.

And should Van Dijk end up at Anfield, he’ll become the sixth Southampton player to have made the switch since 2014, with Liverpool handing over a total of £100m for the previous five.

At 6ft 4in, his commanding presence has won plenty of plaudits, and Saints’ boss Claude Puel handed his star defender the captain’s armband on 10 occasions this term.

Ladbrokes Latest Betting

Virgil van Dijk next club

Chelsea – 7/4

Liverpool – 5/2

Manchester City – 6/1

Everton – 7/1

Manchester United – 8/1

Arsenal – 9/1

Tottenham – 12/1

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing