Chelsea explored signing Virgil van Dijk before he signed new Liverpool deal, they didn’t pursue for one clear reason

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The big news surrounding one of Chelsea’s Premier League rivals on Thursday was the news that Virgil van Dijk had put pen to paper on a new contract with the club.

The Dutchman has followed in the footsteps of his teammate and former Blues man Mohamed Salah in committing more of his future to the Reds, with them set to lift the Premier League trophy in the coming weeks.

It was reported that Salah was considering joining Chelsea, with him feeling like he had unfinished business at Stamford Bridge following his underwhelming spell there in the past.

However, he overall didn’t want to tarnish his legacy at Anfield, and put pen to paper on a new deal with the club.

Chelsea pursued Virgil van Dijk before signing new Liverpool

Reports have now stated that Chelsea were actually exploring a potential deal for Van Dijk on their end, with him set to be a free agent should he not have decided to sign a new contract with the Reds.

According to the Mail Online, there were attempts from the Blues to explore the prospect of signing the Dutchman, however they never really advanced on this due to getting the impression that he was going to extend his stay with Liverpool.

The Blues are reportedly going to be busy in the summer transfer window looking for a new centre-back, with many calling for them to look towards experience when selecting their options.

Van Dijk would have certainly provided this, with him being the perfect character for the likes of Levi Colwill to learn off while they have the chance.

Chelsea looking for ‘the next Van Dijk’

Chelsea’s admiration of Van Dijk has been a thing for some time, with him proving himself during his tenure in the Premier League to be one of the best around.

A previous report stated Chelsea were looking for the ‘next Van Dijk’, with them keeping an eye on Dutchman as part of their transfer targets.

There have been previous links to Mathijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake, however both are comfortable in Manchester at this stage and unlikely to move.