SOUTHAMPTON are ready to play hard-ball by refusing to let wantaway defender Virgil van Dijk complete his dream move to Liverpool.
Van Dijk has submitted a written transfer request in an effort to force his way out of St Mary’s this summer. The Dutchman also made a public statement explaining why he wanted to leave the south-coast club – with a £60million switch to Anfield his preferred option.
But according to Yahoo, Saints have no intention of sanctioning a move to Liverpool as the row between player and club reaches a new low.
Southampton do not want to be forced into making any transfer decision they are not happy with, and fear giving in to the player’s wishes will leave them looking weak.
And there appears to be a growing feeling they want to dig their heels in by making sure if van Dijk does go, he will not be joining Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside.
Saints are still unhappy with the behaviour of Liverpool earlier in the summer whichsaw them lodge a tapping up complaint with the Premier League against their rivals.
Liverpool thought they had secured a £60m deal for Klopp’s number one defensive target in May after the boss met van Dijk secretly to discuss the move. But once Saints made a complaint, the Reds were forced into an embarrassing public apology and issued a statement saying they would no longer be pursuing the transfer.
At the time it was felt Saints would finally come round to the idea of agreeing to the deal, but the St Mary’s board have shown no sign of softening their stance.
Instead they would rather deal with other clubs, and that could pave the way for Chelsea to make a late move to sign the 26-year-old. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is ready to beat Liverpool to his signature by hijacking the deal as he desperately looks to strengthen his squad at Stamford Bridge.
Conte has been trying to convince Roman Abramovich the Premier League champions need to make some signings this summer, and the club appear to have given the go-ahead for three deals. Southampton know they are in a strong position with van Dijk only a year into a six-year contract - and with Chelsea and Liverpool both so keen to sign a defender they are prepared to pay top price.
New boss Mauricio Pellegrino has already started to plan for a future without the defender, with Middlesbrough's highly-rated Ben Gibson high on their wish list.
From The Sun
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