Virgil van Dijk 'very committed' to Southampton despite transfer rumours

Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger has dismissed rumours that Virgil van Dijk could leave the club at the end of the season.

The centre-back is believed to have attracted interest from Premier League heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool following a string of consistently strong performances.

Van Dijk has been out of action for the past five weeks due to an ankle injury, but he is still expected to be among the transfer gossip pages come the summer.

From the club's point of view, though, they intend to have the Dutchman in their ranks for a "long time".

"We are just out of the January transfer window and are striving to keep this group together and to build on it," Krueger told talkSPORT.

"Virgil is very committed to us for a long time and we don't see anything but that in our future. He is our team captain and we don't see him anywhere else than in red and white stripes."

The 25-year-old joined Saints from Celtic in 2015.