Everton have stolen a march on their rivals in the race to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
According to a report in The Mirror the defender has ditched his long standing agents to sign up with the firm that represents Ronald Koeman.
The two Dutchmen worked together at Southampton with strong speculation in Holland that they will soon be together again at Goodison Park.
Van Dijk signed a new six year contract at Southampton towards the end of last season but there is little hope of him being at Saints at the start of next season.
Both of the Manchester clubs plus Liverpool and Chelsea have been linked with the defender who is in his second season at St Mary’s.
The 25-year-old has experience of the Champions League, Europa League and international football and is preparing for the biggest move of his career after stints with Groningen and Celtic.
Koeman is anxious to put his stamp on the Everton side and now has the inside track on interest in van Dijk through his London based representatives- the Wasserman Group.