BREAKING: Virgil van Dijk hands in official transfer request at Southampton

Virgil van Dijk has released an official statement to reiterate his desire to leave Southampton Football Club.

In another turn of events in what has been an ever-changing saga, Virgil van Dijk has today released a statement relaying his desire to move on from the Saints.

Van Dijk’s future has been the main talking point among the Southampton fanbase this summer, with his reported £60 million move to either Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea being extensively covered by the media.

With van Dijk tied down to a contract that runs for another five years, Les Reed and co. have insisted that they did not need to sell in comparison to previous summers, when players like Victor Wanyama were nearing the end of their Southampton deals.

The Dutchman’s future was thrown into further doubt when Mauricio Pellegrino confirmed his absence from the pre-season camp in France, which followed one of many attempts by van Dijk to force his way out of the club.

The 26-year-old’s stock has only been on the rise despite spending the past few months out injured, with several English giants keen to add the Saints’ team captain to their ranks.

Chelsea and Liverpool will now be swarming like sharks as the Saints must make the decision as to whether or not they will sell the defender. Keeping him could risk a toxic environment among other players but the team would also have one of the league’s best defenders among their ranks.

The fact that van Dijk has gone public with his statement about his desire to move on from the south-coast outfit shows the lengths he’s keen to go to get out of the club, and the defender has alienated much of the Southampton fanbase as a result. It might be time for him to go.