Chelsea have confirmed they are hoping to sign £20m Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

The PSV Eindhoven striker scored a hat-trick in Thursday evening's defeat of Ajax in front of Blues boss Gianluca Vialli, coach Ray Wilkins and managing director Colin Hutchinson.

The trio arrived in Holland in time to see the 23-year-old Van Nistelrooy's fifth hat-trick of the season.

Chelsea's assistant boss Gwyn Williams confirmed in The Mirror newspaper: "All three flew to the match. We are hopeful we can sign Ruud."

But the player will not come cheaply.

PSV rejected a £15m bid from Italian side Roma last month - and Chelsea will have to beat that figure if they are to land a player who has also caught the eye of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and Newcastle.

Van Nistelrooy - whose international career has been blocked by the presence of Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp - has scored 21 goals in just 19 games for PSV this season.