UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla have joined the race for talented Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk from Celtic.
The Dutchman, who was one of the players of the season in the Scottish Premier League in his very first season in Scotland, is being chased by a host of clubs including Newcastle United as well as Southampton.
And now, Sevilla has thrown its name into the hat as potential suitors for the highly talented Dutchman and land one of the most in demand defenders in the world at the moment.
New Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has earmarked the classy centre back as his top defensive target if Dejan Lovren does force through his move to Liverpool in the coming days as is expected in the English media.
Fellow Premier League side Newcastle are also keen on adding the Dutchman to add much needed steel to their fragile backline but with Sevilla joining them in the list, Celtic will be hoping a transfer tug of war pushes the price of the player high enough to make a handsome profit on him.
The player, a Holland Under-21 international, is contracted with the Scottish giants till 2017 and they want to keep him at the club for at least one more season, but with a bidding war set to start at £ 6 million, it could be difficult for them to keep hold of the player.
Van Dijk joined Celtic for a paltry £ 2.6 million last season from FC Groningen and almost strolled through his first season in Scotland, adding a lot to his reputation.
Koeman is also desperate to add the Dutchman to his squad after being impressed by his performances and monitored his progress closely while he was the manager of Dutch superpowers Feyenoord, before joining Southampton as their new boss this summer.