Missing out on securing the transfer of Belgian Toby Alderweireld, who spent the 2014-15 season on loan at St. Mary’s, Southampton have been linked to several names who could slot in to fill the gap and partner club captain José Fonte at the heart of defence.
The central-defensive position has been the most talked about weakness in the Southampton side throughout the window, the two names that have popped up most frequently and credibly in the last few days’ rumour mill have been Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk and Hull City’s James Chester.
Virgil van Dijk
Age: 24
Height: 193cm/6’4
Starting out his professional senior career with Dutch side FC Groningen, van Dijk made a total of 66 appearances between 2011 and 2013. Transferring to Scottish side Celtic for a fee around £2.6 million in June, he became a key part of the setup in Neil Lennon’s, and then subsequently Ronny Delia’s sides. Recording 106 appearances for the club in all competitions, the centre-half was key in the club’s back-to-back Scottish Premiership championships during his time and featured in the previous two season’s unsuccessful European campaigns.
The Dutchman is strong in defenc,e but perhaps the more impressive aspect of his game is his contributions at the other end of the park. Scoring seven goals in his time with Groningen and now 15 through his two seasons with Celtic, the tall defender is a real threat from set piece plays.
Van Dijk has already made it clear that he is looking to leave Celtic during the summer window, stating the desire for a new challenge. He has shown an interest in moving to a Premier League club, but is apparently open to Bundesliga, Liga BBVA and Ligue 1 sides as well.
Making a few appearances for the Netherlands’ youth sides, van Dijk is yet to make a senior appearance for his country, thoug he seems hopeful that a transfer to a larger club will help his chances of entering the Oranje setup.
“It’s my dream and my goal to play for Holland. I keep setting targets and my aim is to make it as difficult as possible for the national coach to ignore me,” van Dijk said.
Competition for his signature seems fierce as well with Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton all allegedly interested in his services. It would seem that any deal may be a while-off, with Celtic keen to hold onto the centre-back until after their Champion’s League qualification campaign.
James Chester
Age: 26
Height: 177cm/5’10
Chester has undoubtedly shown flashes of talent throughout the last two years in the Premier League, but he has also had a few injury issues and had been dropped from the squad a few times. A total of 47 EPL appearances over two years is by no means not respectable, but it could be said that for a lower-table team, one would hope for some more consistency.
The Welsh centre-half has been at Hull now for four years after signing from English giants Manchester United, for whom he made just one League Cup appearance in his time there. Hull manager Steve Bruce identified Chester as one of the players he was most impressed with last season, and one of those the Tigers was most likely to lose after their relegation to the Championship.
Seemingly now poised for a move to West Bromich Albion for an £8 million fee, already there have been some rumours that this is someway farther from being completed than being reported. Leicester City seems to be looking to hijack the deal, and the Saints’ interest appears to have cooled for now, focusing on other targets.
[interaction id=”55ba541097160885073e8cad”]
With good central-defenders seeming to be in high demand in the Premier League at the moment, any targets seem to have more than a few suitors chasing their signatures. Southampton will seemingly have to really dip into the money made from player sales over the past couple of years to pry away a name who can truly fill the void in the heart of their defence.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
