Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted he was disappointed to miss out of the signing of Dutch international defender Virgil Van Dijk.
‘’This is football. This is life. 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 of course moved to Liverpool from Southampton for £75 million earlier this month, in a deal which saw the talented centre-back become the most expensive defender in history.
Conte has repeatedly spoken of his desire to strengthen his squad in both attack and defense during the January transfer window.
Despite the former Juventus managers philosophical attitude to missing out on Van Dijk, it is thought that he is extremely unhappy with what he sees as a lack of backing in the transfer market by the Stamford Bridge club, and most observers expect a parting of ways in the summer.