Virgil van Dijk more likely to join Chelsea or Manchester City than Liverpool but Southampton will demand £70m
Saints reportedly adamant they will not be bullied by Kop outfit or their Dutch defender into allowing him to move to the Merseyside giants
SOUTHAMPTON will not be bullied by Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk into selling the defender, reportedly claimed a club source.
The centre-back is on the verge of becoming the world’s most-expensive defender as he nears an exit from the South Coast club.
However, Yahoo Sports claim his likely destination will be either Chelsea or Manchester City rather than Anfield.
And the Saints will be demanding a fee in excess of £70million for the Dutchman.
Van Dijk handed in a transfer request earlier this month after months of speculation regarding his future and having been denied a move to Liverpool earlier in the summer.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were forced to issue an apology after Southampton reported them for making an illegal approach.
Saints were keen to keep hold of the 26-year-old but after submitting his transfer request, it is claimed they could be tempted to cash in and sell to the Premier League champions Chelsea if their offer reaches the £70m mark.
The latest report claims that St Mary’s officials believe they keep can Van Dijk focused to play for them until at least next summer.
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And manager Mauricio Pellegrino was keen to re-iterate the club’s stance following the 0-0 draw with Swansea on Saturday.
He said: “Virgil is part of the squad and I can’t talk about something that right now is something I can’t manage as a manager.
“Hopefully, I repeat again, we are waiting him to train with the team and to be part of the team again.
“I think all of us, the technical director, me as a manager, we know that Virgil is an important part of the club but we need him in another way.”
Despite their stance, Van Dijk remains keen to complete a big money move to Merseyside.
Yahoo also claim that Southampton would have been open to selling him to Klopp’s outfit two months ago had the star and his agent conducted themselves differently.
If he had expressed his desire to depart earlier but stayed and trained with the club as normal then he could already be a Liverpool player.
Instead, he now finds himself in limbo as he trains with the youth squad.
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