Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted that he was interested in signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.

The centre-back ended up joining Liverpool in £75m deal at the start of the month.

The Dutchman tried to orchestrate a move away from the Saints last summer by handing in a transfer request, but the coastal club held firm and managed to resist interest from various clubs.

Chelsea were rumoured to be in the market for Van Dijk, and now Conte has confirmed that the reigning Premier League champions tried to sign him.

"This is football. This is life," Sky Sports News quotes the manager as saying. "For sure he was our target but as you know this is football. We can have a lot of targets but you must be able to reach those targets. The transfer market is not simple for any club."

Van Dijk made an impression on his debut by scoring in Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Everton in the third round of the FA Cup.