Southampton rumors: Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand, Mamadou Sakho
By Chris Hughes
With the 2016-17 season coming to an end next month, transfer rumors are coming in thick and fast for Premier League teams, and Southampton are not excluded.
The latest transfer rumors surrounding the Saints don’t make for fun reading however, with two of the side’s most important players linked with big-money moves away from St. Mary’s Stadium.
Recently-appointed team captain Virgil van Dijk spearheads the paper talk, with suggestions that the Dutchman would prefer a move to Chelsea rather than Manchester City or even Liverpool.
But if the reports are to be believed then the champions-elect will have to stump up a serious fee to land their man, with Southampton seemingly demanding as much as £50 million for the 25-year-old.
Should the Blues cough up the mammoth price tag, it would smash the transfer record the Saints have received for any player, with Sadio Mane’s £36 million fee last summer currently the highest.
Van Dijk joined the south coast outfit in September 2015 from Scottish side Celtic for a rumored fee of £13 million pounds. How the centre-back has missed the majority of this half of the season through injury, and will not return before the next campaign.
Should the Saints lose their star centre-back, it’s reported through various sources that the side will again look to bring in Frenchman Mamadou Sakho.
The 27-year-old, who is currently on-loan from Liverpool at Crystal Palace, was heavily linked with the side after Jose Fonte departed the club for West Ham United.
The Saints instead made a move to bring in free agent Martin Caceres, however the Uruguayan is yet to make an appearance for the senior side.
Southampton were seemingly put off of a deal for Sakho in January because of his high wage demands, with Liverpool reportedly paying the former PSG man over £100,000 a week.
Since joining Palace however the centre-back has proved why Liverpool originally spent £18 million to sign him, with his performance at the weekend against Chelsea nothing short of stellar.
Should the Saints be interested in Sakho though it won’t be a cheap deal, with the Liverpool Echo suggesting that Jurgen Klopp’s side will demand at least £30 million for the man who joined them in 2013.
The final man recently linked with a move away from Southampton is starting left-back Ryan Bertrand. Reports in The Sun suggest that former club Chelsea are keen to re-sign the England international.
Seeing big European teams bring back former players is no rare sight, with Chelsea themselves re-signing Nemanja Matic back in 2014.
With Cesar Azpilicueta having moved into a new role as a left-sided centre-back, Antonio Conte’s side are thin when it comes to out-and-out left-backs. With Baba Rahman out on loan in Germany, Marcos Alonso is seemingly the only true wing-back in the senior team.
The 27-year-old joined the Saints on loan in the summer of 2014 before making his move permanent the following February, and has since made himself one of the vital pieces in the Southampton puzzle.
Bertrand’s four assists in the Premier League this season sees him tied with Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse for the side’s most, whilst he’s also averaging 1.7 interceptions per game from his 20 appearances.