Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has described Virgil van Dijk as a "really good player" amid speculation that his side are considering a January move for the Southampton defender.

Van Dijk was left on the bench for Southampton's visit to Stamford Bridge this afternoon as Chelsea edged to a 1-0 win over the Saints, once again raising questions over his future at the club.

The Dutch centre-back failed in an attempt to engineer a move away from St Mary's during the summer, but Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has refused to rule out the possibility of a January exit with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City thought to be amongst the interested parties.

"He's a really good player. He had a bad [knee] injury, but I think he recovered very well. I wish him the best," Conte told reporters when questioned over Van Dijk after Saturday's match.

Southampton are expected to hold out for a bid of more than £70m before they consider selling Van Dijk next month.