Southampton tell Liverpool, Manchester City: Virgil van Dijk is not for sale

Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger is adamant that Virgil van Dijk is “not for sale in this window” as keeping the defender is “the statement we need to make” at this juncture.

This summer has been dominated by big-money transfers and agitated players, with the future of Saints’ unsettled 26-year-old centre-back one of the more turbulent sagas.

Southampton asked the Premier League to investigate an alleged illegal approach from Liverpool in June, leading the Reds to swiftly make a remarkable statement publicly dropping their interest in Van Dijk.

Speculation continues to link the Holland international with a move to the likes of Jurgen Klopp’s side and Premier League champions Chelsea, with the defender last week taking matters into his own hands by handing in a transfer request.

READ MORE: Southampton hope van Dijk can be reintegrated

Van Dijk has been training away from the main group as he attempts to force an exit, but Saints chairman Krueger has reiterated to Press Association Sport that the defender is not going anywhere.

“Virgil is not for sale in this window and it’s not personal,” the chairman said, just days after the Gao family bought an 80 per cent stake in the club.

“It’s not about him, it’s about an overall much, much, much bigger picture – a change of course for Southampton.

“The first summer I was here five players went out and six went in, not counting academy.

“Second summer three went out, seven came in, and third summer five went out, five came in.

“Now it is one out and two in, and this is who we want to become.

“We want to mature, we want to be a team that can profit from synergies that create a much more attractive football and a better product for the fans, and gives us a chance to get back into Europe.

“That’s one player in this whole equation of 25 and it is the visible one, but for us it’s the principle and it’s the path and it’s the statement we need to make to get to a new space as a club.

“We are very, very adamant about carrying this through.

“The new partnership has completely and wholly backed our strategy and plan and on September 1 people will see how serious we were and are.”

It is a big statement from a club synonymous with seeing their best players leave on annual basis.

None of Southampton’s previous stars have gone as far as to make a public transfer request, yet Krueger believes Van Dijk can be integrated into the group – and accepted, if not forgiven, by supporters.

“Well, first of all, they have experienced it here before on multiple occasions and it hasn’t been a problem,” the former head coach of the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers said.

“I can go back to Morgan Schneiderlin in our first summer and I could list others, but let’s not do that.

READ MORE: Chelsea, Man City quoted told to smash defender record fee to sign Van Dijk

“We’ve had other examples of that where it was no problem, so I don’t see that as a problem.”

Krueger praised “strong leader” Mauricio Pellegrino for the way he has dealt with the situation, saying the Saints boss has kept everybody focused on the job while dealing “very well” with Van Dijk as the pair continue to communicate “openly with each other”.

Rather than lose a key player, plans are afoot to strengthen the group further before the end of the month and Press Association Sport understands Lazio defender Wesley Hoedt is among those targeted.

“We’re definitely not done,” Krueger said after Saints signed Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina and Lech Poznan defender Jan Bednarek.

“We’re looking at options but again we’re not in a position to just bring in anybody.

“It would have to be a player that would fit and tick all the boxes of our needs, not only short-term but long-term.

“Football is still active, the black box is buzzing.”

READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk saga could spark Saints relegation battle

We understand Southampton may have been more open to doing a deal for Van Dijk if the player and his advisers had handled transfer negotiations in a more professional manner, yet Kruger has now confirmed once more that the club are keen to hold on to the player who handed in a transfer request last week.

“Our stance remains based on our strategy from May when we spoke last,” the Saints chief told the Daily Echo. “I already told you the numbers that we have transferred in and transferred out and it is time to stop that.

“We really thought this was a good summer for that. Strength of the contracts, age of the group and the experiences of last year like going to a cup final gave us the feeling this is a group that tasted that winning and keeping them together would give us the chance to reach another level.

“Virgil is not the only player that is involved in this he is part of the whole strategy of not selling. Nobody is for sale that we don’t want to sell and so he is not for sale in this window. We have said it more than once.

“Mauricio has done an amazing job of dealing with this situation. It has not disrupted our team. It is not in any way caused a lack of focus in training, in the locker room, and of course everybody will open their arms when Virgil comes back and we go at it.”

Despite those strong words, Krueger hinted there may be room for a deal to be completed if the right offer was lodged, amid rumours that Chelsea are preparing a big money bid to sign Van Dijk.

“I will tell you one thing – over the years we have spoken I don’t give definite answers where there isn’t a definite,” he added.

“With all the knowledge I have today and all the information I have on my plate right now my answer is we are carrying our strategy through the summer and that’s it.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Palmer