Virgil van Dijk out of Southampton’s opener against Swansea with a ‘virus’ amid strong interest from Liverpool
Dutch defender is also a target for Chelsea this summer but Mauricio Pellegrino insists ace isn't bigger than club
VIRGIL VAN DIJK will not play in Southampton’s Premier League opener with Swansea because of a “virus”.
But Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino has warned his want-away captain he is NOT bigger than the club.
Van Dijk, 26, is a target for both Chelsea and Liverpool — and this week slapped in a transfer request in a last-ditch bid to force a move away from St Mary’s.
Anfield remains his preferred destination but Southampton are adamant their £60million-rated Dutchman will not be sold to the Merseysiders.
It comes after they accused Jurgen Klopp’s men of tapping him up earlier this summer.
Chelsea are closely watching the situation and are expected to test Southampton’s resolve later in the transfer window.
Pellegrino denied rumours the Dutch defender had been banned from the first-team dressing room, claiming he has been unable to train this week because of the mystery illness.
The Saints boss said: “He won’t be available this weekend as he had some trouble with a virus and hasn’t trained the last two days.
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“We are expecting him to come back and hopefully he can change his point of view.”
The Argentinian added: “The problem here is that Virgil is one of the most important players. But there isn’t one player more important than the 11 players playing together.
“Virgil is an important player but the club was clear from the beginning with the player.
“We cannot control every situation and Virgil is part of our club because he has a contract.
“The player is clear with his position but we have to keep going because I can’t control the thinking of the player at this moment.”
Van Dijk has been training alone since first telling Pellegrino last month that he wanted to leave.
With Saints flatly refusing to do business with Liverpool, Chelsea are waiting patiently to make their move.
Pellegrino insists the saga will not affect his side’s preparations for the visit of the Swans.
He said: “Swansea are a good team because they have a balance between defence and attack as they play with a diamond in the middle and the full-backs up high.
“They also want to press higher up the pitch and it will be really tough for us.
“You will see more or less the same dynamic from us that you have in the last few games but we are ready.”
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Saints’ record signing Mario Lemina is set to be named in the squad after completing a £18.5m move from Juventus.
Pellegrino revealed the player is in a good physical state.
The Gabon midfielder, 23, has begun training with his new team-mates but the manager refused to confirm whether he would start or not.
Pellegrino said: “Physically he is good, because he has been training in Juventus, but we will decide between today and tomorrow if he will be part of the team.”