After their shock defeat against Burnley, Chelsea are being tipped to launch a bid for BVirgil Van Dijk.

Saints have said he is going nowhere, but do Saints really mean he is going anywhere bar Anfield as rumours that Chelsea are going to put the first actual offer of the summer for the Duch defender on the table.

From a Saints perspective it is a double edged sword, on one hand the best outcome would be for the transfer window to shut and Van Dijk come to his senses and knuckle down, but on the other if Chesea did come in it would offer Saints the chance to bring in some big money and buy a couple of defenders.

It could also push up the price a little and from a Saints perspective they could then legitimately claim they were not keeping the player against his will.

Liverpool's defensive frailties were also exposed on Saturday and they are now desperate for Van Dijk and some Liverpool supporters are getting sick of the situation and are worried that Klopp has no plan B if Saints do hold firm or indeed if he went to Chelsea.

Indeed Liverpool are probably regretting quoting far too much for Mamadou Sakho to Saints back in January with totally unrealistic demands for his transfer value, if they had done that deal in January then relationships between the two clubs could be more cordial, indeed at the start of this summer if Liverpool had put a deal on the table including Sakho and valued him at around £15 million rather than the £30 million they seem to want, then perhaps Saints might have seen that as a good deal.

Now it is Chelsea who will come knocking and they might offer Andreas Christensen a player Saints have been linked with earlier in the summer, Christensen was an 18th minute sub for Chelsea against Burnley coming on after Cahill's red card, that might have convinced Chelsea boss Conte that Christensen is not the answer for his team and that Van Dijk is.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:48 - Aug 14 "tipped" - I wonder who is doing the tipping? VVD to Chelsea would be the best outcome if none of the overseas big boys come in. If it was to happen why take a player as part of the deal? Let's take the cash and buy 2 good CBs of our own choosing - and quickly because not conceding against a woeful Swansea does not mean we have an adequate central defence.
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SaintPaulVW added 11:21 - Aug 14 But.....he's not for sale.
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steve73 added 11:55 - Aug 14 My heart wants him to rot in hell for eternity. But it'd probably be more pragmatic to sell. I think the Chelsea link is just another example of speculative journalism though, I reckon he'll be here until January at least.
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landerwal added 12:42 - Aug 14 Saints should not sell Van Dijk. With his arrival right at the end of the transfer window and last season's injury, we have barely had a season and a half of him playing for us. Let's get another season out of him, then sell. Even he rots in the reserves at least it's a warning to any other players who sign extensions to their contracts, then want a big money move that Saints won't roll over and capitulate anymore.

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BoondockSaint added 13:46 - Aug 14 What double edged sword? Look, even if he was put back on the first team, he's not going to put in a proper effort, maybe even "accidentally" slip and allow a goal or two just to force our hand. So it's not like we are hurting ourselves by getting rid of him. As long as he doesn't go to the Scouse we have made our point that he didn't get what he wanted. Let him go to Chelski, grab as much money as we can and SPEND IT LES! It's not like he's going to come back to haunt us in the Champions League is it?

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