Arsenal & Chelsea Handed Boost As Club Refuse To Sell £60m Target To Liverpool

Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on Virgil van Dijk….

The race to sign Virgil van Dijk is wide open as the Express claim Southampton would rather let the defender sit in the stands than sell to Liverpool this summer.

Van Dijk’s future has been up in the air in recent months as an initial switch to Liverpool was blocked after Southampton reported the Merseysiders to the Premier League for ‘tapping up’ the centre-back.

The Reds issued a public apology and vowed to end their pursuit of the Dutch international but Liverpool have been tipped to renew their interest after van Dijk handed in a formal transfer request.

The 26-year-old released a strongly worded statement earlier this week confirming he’s been forced to hand in a transfer request in order to force a move away from St Mary’s after the south coast club rebuffed offers for several top clubs.

Van Dijk has been training on his own in recent weeks and the Daily Mail suggest that Arsenal and Chelsea are ready to battle-it-out with Liverpool if Southampton agree to sell this summer.

Liverpool remain the firm favourites to secure his signature with the Express claiming earlier this week that van Dijk favours a move to Anfield and Klopp’s men are ready to revive their £60m move for the defender.

However, it seems any fresh swoop is set to end in failure as the Express are reporting today that Southampton are still furious with Liverpool for the way they acted earlier in the summer and will refuse to do business with them.

The newspaper says the Saints would rather let van Dijk rot in the stands this season than sell to the Merseysiders even if it means missing out on a £60m pay-day. An apparent club insider told the Express:

“We do not want to sell Virgil to Liverpool and will happily let him sit in the stands all season if we have to.

“Most of the fans would back the club in this after everything that has gone on.”

This news will alert Arsenal and Chelsea as the London duo could now see this as their opportunity to try to get a deal done with Southampton for the unsettled centre-back.

Arsene Wenger could certainly do with a dominant defender to help make the Gunners genuine title contenders while Antonio Conte desperately needs to further strengthen his squad ahead of the new campaign and van Dijk would be a superb addition for either side.

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However, it remains to be seen whether the Dutchman will be keen on a move to the capital or if he’ll insist on joining Liverpool so it’s going to be fascinating to see how this saga plays out over the coming weeks.