Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino has insisted that he wants to keep Virgil van Dijk at the club beyond the end of the January transfer window.
Pellegrino dropped Van Dijk for Saturday's Premier League clash against Chelsea amid suggestions that the Saints manager had lost patience with the in-demand centre-back.
Van Dijk is believed to be a transfer target for Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, and his attitude has been called into question on a number of occasions during the 2017-18 campaign.
Pellegrino has conceded that the future of Van Dijk is out of his hands, but the 46-year-old does not want to lose the Netherlands international in the winter transfer window.
"Obviously Virgil is an important player and always it depends on how they are, the energy they have got in every training session. A lot of things make an important player," the Daily Echo quotes Pellegrino as saying.
"I will repeat that I can't control the market and I am not the owner of the player. I can have my opinion, and I can give to the technical director and the chairman my opinion, but then after the board can decide all together which is the best for the team.
"I will recommend to try and keep our best players here in the club. The club was clear at the beginning and I have the same opinion."
Van Dijk joined Southampton from Celtic in the summer of 2015.
Matt Law
