Everton are ramping up their pursuit to sign Celtic defender Virgil can Dijk according to various reports

Everton have been in the market to sign a new central defender this summer following the departures of Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz, and it had emerged that manager Roberto Martinez had eyed up a move for Scott Dann and Angelo Ogbonna.

However with Dann signing a new deal with Crystal Palace and Ogbonna deciding on a move to West Ham United, Martinez has missed out on both of his top central defensive transfer targets.

As a further potential blow for Martinez, it is looking increasingly likely that Chelsea will be able to lure key defender John Stones to Stamford Bridge this summer and if indeed Stones does depart, it will further heighten Martinez’s need to sign a new central defender.

Therefore it is no surprise to see Martinez assessing all his options in his search to sign a new central defender and recently, it had been claimed that the Spanish manager had eyed up a move for Celtic star Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk has been one of the best defenders in the Scottish Premier League over the past few seasons and the Dutchman has made it clear that he will be looking to make a step up this summer by joining an English Premier League side.

A host of top flight English teams have registered their interest in signing van Dijk and Everton are among the many clubs in the hunt to recruit the defender.

It has now been reported that Everton are ramping up their pursuit to sign van Dijk and in a bid to beat off the intense competition and are ready to match Celtic’s price tag of around £10million for the Dutchman.

Van Dijk has garnered a lot of experience at the highest level for Celtic over the years and his signing would certainly represent a huge coup for Everton, especially if John Stones decides to depart the club this summer.