Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier condemns 'distasteful', 'unprofessional' Virgil van Dijk but hopes he stays

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Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has criticised Virgil van Dijk’s actions as “distasteful” and “unprofessional” but backs him to stay despite wanting a move to Liverpool.

Van Dijk has been ordered to train on his own by Southampton’s new manager Mauricio Pellegrino after asking to leave the club amid interest from the Reds.

“I find it pretty distasteful when players start refusing to play for clubs when they’re getting paid pretty good money to be there,” Le Tissier told talkSPORT on Wednesday, “to be honest it’s pretty unprofessional.”

Van Dijk, who signed a five-year contract in 2016 to keep him at the club until 2021, has reiterated his desire to leave Southampton who are standing firm in their refusal to sell the 26-year-old.

Despite Van Dijk’s efforts to leave the club, Le Tissier believes the Dutch defender could be a Southampton player at the end of the transfer window.

He feels clubs are beginning to regain control from ‘player power'.

"It’s been going on long enough and he’s still here," Le Tissier, who made 380 appearances for the Saints, added.

“If [players] had all the power he would have gone by now but it’s rumbled on for quite a few weeks and he hasn’t got his own way.

“Clubs are now in a much healthier financial position, [which] means that the power might just be shifting back towards the clubs a little bit if they want to dig their heels in."

Le Tissier also believes Southampton could make an example of Van Dijk.

“If they feel like they can make a stand on this, then they can,” he added.

Southampton asked the Premier League to launch an investigation into whether Liverpool made an illegal approach for Van Dijk.

In a statement, Liverpool said: “We apologise to the owner, board of director and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.

“We respect Southampton’s position and can confirm we have ended an interest in the player”