Liverpool’s chances of drafting in Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk took another blow on Wednesday when Saints chairman Ralph Krueger reaffirmed that they have no intention of parting ways with the Dutchman despite the fact that he’s handed in a transfer request and is training apart from the rest of the first team.
“Virgil is not for sale this window – it’s not personal,” stressed Krueger. “It’s about an overall much, much, much bigger picture – a change of course for Southampton. 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,” continued the Southampton man. “We are very, very adamant about carrying this through.”
That very rhetoric has been a familiar theme throughout the summer — especially when it comes to Liverpool. Unable to pry star midfielder Naby Keita away from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, they’re now being faced with the prospect of missing out on both of their top transfer targets despite throwing ridiculous amounts of money at player and club alike. To make things even worse, they’ve had to take the same line with Spanish giants Barcelona who have set their sights on signing Reds attacker Philippe Coutinho. Having signed a new long term deal back in January without a release clause, the Little Magician is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to forcing through a move to the Nou Camp, but time will tell whether the club will be forced to finally cave in to his demands.
“I prefer to not think of this (Coutinho leaving) because it would be awful,” explained Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, sounding dismayed at the prospect of the Reds number-ten moving to Catalonia. “He’s a great player but also a great friend to me,” continued the Brazilian, pushing past a question that put him in an obviously uncomfortable situation. “It is normal that great teams are interested in his football but my concentration is now on the team.”
