Speaking to The Telegraph, Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte has claimed that he almost stole Virgil van Dijk from under Liverpool’s nose after winning the Premier League with Chelsea.
Van Dijk signing for Chelsea may have led to the Blues becoming a dominant force in English football for years to come, but luckily for Liverpool, van Dijk ended up at Anfield in January 2018.
Of course, Liverpool were interested long before his arrival was finalised, but they seemingly weren’t the only ones in for his signature, as Conte says the London club almost signed him.
“I asked for two players and we were very, very close after we won the league,’ Conte said about van Dijk’s potential transfer to Chelsea.
“One player was Romelu Lukaku, the second player was Virgil van Dijk, and these two players were very, very close. We were in contact every day and I always said that with these two players we would improve my team by 30 per cent.”
How lucky are Liverpool that van Dijk didn’t sign for Chelsea?
The ex-Southampton man working under Conte at Stamford Bridge is a mouthwatering prospect, especially after they tore the league to shreds in 2016/17.
That signing would certainly have changed the course of Liverpool’s history.
There are few defenders in the world that could have had the impact the 38-cap Netherlands international has had at Anfield.
It’s hard to envisage the Reds winning the Champions League or the Premier League without their star defender.
Fortunately for Liverpool, the deal to take van Dijk to Chelsea never came to fruition, and Conte ended up moving on after his second season.
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