In an exclusive from Sunsport this morning, Chelsea are confident that they have secured a deal for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk. The Premier League leaders have reportedly beaten off competition from London rivals Arsenal and will sign the 25-year-old Dutchman in the summer.
 

Blues boss Antonio Conte will also reportedly offer Danish centre-half Andreas Christensen as part of the deal that brings van Dijk to Stamford Bridge. This will be another body blow for Arsenal who was ready to offer the Dutch international £150,000-a-week and make him one of their highest paid players.
 

Van Dijk himself is out of action for the rest of the season as he continues to recover from an ankle injury and Conte believes he is the right man to bring some much needed security to his back-line next season as they return to Champions League action.  The journal also believes that this could now spell the end of Kurt Zouma’s time in West London with the 22-year-old Frenchman likely to be off-loaded at the end of the season.