Mauricio Pellegrino admitted he could not control whether or not Virgil van Dijk will leave Southampton in January after dropping him for the defeat to Chelsea. And Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte did not rule out a move for Van Dijk as he underlined his admiration for the central defender.

Chelsea failed with a bid for Van Dijk during the summer and the Dutchman’s omission at Stamford Bridge could spark new interest from Conte, along with Manchester City and Liverpool. City are known to want a defensive reinforcement in January, while Conte has admitted that David Luiz’s knee injury is serious and could keep him out for some time. Liverpool were forced to apologise for the nature of their pursuit of Van Dijk, but still have issues at the back.

A Marcos Alonso free-kick was enough to win the game for Chelsea, but it was the absence of Van Dijk, who was valued at £70 million six months ago, which created the most intrigue. Southampton were adamant that Van Dijk would not be sold in the summer, even after he told the club he wanted to leave and trained on his own. But, on the prospect of a January departure, Saints manager Pellegrino said: “I can't control the market. I'm not the owner of the player. I can have my opinion and this I have give to the technical director, to the chairman my opinion. After, the board can decide all together which is the best for the team.”