Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger has sent out a strong message to suitors of Virgil Van Dijk after revealing the club would not even accept a £60m bid for the defender.
Van Dijk, who signed a six-year deal last May, hasn’t featured for Southampton since the start of the year after seriously damaging his ankle ligaments against Leicester and it was widely accepted that the Dutchman had played his final game for the club.
Manchester City are among the sides chasing his signature in a bid to bolster their defensive options but Pep Guardiola's side may now have to look for alternatives after being told the Southampton ace is not for sale this summer.
“Can we? Yes,” Sky Sports quote the Southampton chairman as saying when asked whether Southampton could afford to turn down a £60m bid. “We do not need to sell anybody.”
Van Dijk has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining Southampton from Celtic in September 2015, highlighted by the fact he has won the WhoScored Man of the Match at least six more times than any other teammate during that period.
Not only that, but of players that have started at least 30 Premier League games since the start of last season, only Alexis Sanchez (7.73), Dimitri Payet (7.66) and Harry Kane (7.53) have secured higher WhoScored ratings than Van Dijk (7.51).
For more stats on Virgil Van Dijk, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
