Antonio Conte has revealed he tried to signal Virgil van Dijk for Chelsea earlier than he joined Liverpool.
The Reds purchased Van Dijk for £75million within the 2018 January switch window, making him the costliest defender ever on the time. He has since gone on to turn out to be an Anfield legend whereas being recognised as the most effective centre-back of his period, having gained the Champions League and the Premier League.
But the Dutchman, beforehand at Southampton, might have joined Chelsea the yr earlier than on the again of the Blues’ 2016/17 title win below Conte. The Italian boss, who final managed Tottenham in 2023, was talking to The Telegraph in regards to the issue of difficult Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the league when he made the revelation.
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Conte mentioned: “It’s not easy. Guardiola is the best coach in the world. And then when you can match the best coach in the world with a club that can back you and can invest to bring in important players to improve the team every season because they want to stay at the top of the world, then it is very, very difficult to compete at the same level.
“My history says that I always arrived at my clubs in a difficult situation with problems. I always build. After my first season at Chelsea, when we won the title, we could have become dominant in England. We spoke with (Romelu) Lukaku and (Virgil) van Dijk, and with those two important players we could have changed the situation.”
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(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
Lukaku did find yourself returning to Chelsea a lot later firstly of the 2021/22 season, having simply gained Serie A with Inter below Conte. Meanwhile, defensive colossus Van Dijk has gone on to play 250 matches for Liverpool, changing into their captain this season as they mount one other title problem.
For Conte, the failure to land his key switch targets in the summertime of 2017 would price him dearly. The Blues’ rivals largely labored out nullify their beforehand efficient 3-5-2 formation and his facet completed fifth the next season, leading to his sacking in July 2018.