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Virgil van Dijk trains alone after asking to leave Southampton

Van Dijk trains alone after asking to leave
© SilverHub
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino reveals that Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk is training alone as he is not in the right frame of mind after asking for a transfer.

Mauricio Pellegrino has vowed to keep Virgil van Dijk at Southampton, despite revealing that the player has made clear that he wants to leave.

The Netherlands international was close to joining Liverpool in a £60m deal earlier this summer, only for the Reds to pull out at the last minute after being accused of illegally approaching him.

Liverpool stated at the time that they would no longer pursue their interest, but reports have since emerged claiming that the 26-year-old is to push through a move to Anfield in the remaining weeks of the transfer window.

Pellegrino does not believe that Van Dijk is in the right frame of mind to train with the rest of his Southampton teammates, meaning that he will miss next week's trip to France to face Saint-Etienne in a pre-season friendly, though the new boss is hopeful that the centre-back will reverse his stance.

"My relationship with Virgil is excellent," he told The Telegraph. "I was clear with the boy, and I was talking from the first day with him. The club was clear. The club told me they will not sell Virgil. I communicate the idea of the club to the players and for me it was easy [to leave Van Dijk out of training] because I had to manage the dynamic of the team.

"Now he is not involved with the team because psychologically he is not 100 per cent. If you are not 100 per cent with the team I need to work with the players who are 100 per cent to defend Southampton. It's easy for me. I hope that Virgil can review his feelings because you know that today a player is big business.

"Not just the player but behind them is a lot of interests. I don't want to say too much but we need the player, 100 per cent. I want to help the squad, I want to help Virgil, but we need a player, and I repeat, involved in every training session, not just with the body but with the mind on the pitch with the rest of the players."

Van Dijk, also linked to Arsenal and Manchester City this summer, made 30 appearances for the Saints last season in all competitions.

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Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk in action during the Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's on December 31, 2016
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1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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