END OF THE WORLD..
Van Dijk is warned his Saints stand-off could wreck his Dutch ticket to Russia
HOLLAND boss Dick Advocaat admits he will have to “deal with things” if Virgil van Dijk’s standoff at Southampton drags on.
Wantaway Saints defender Van Dijk stepped up his attempts to force an exit by handing in a transfer request.
Liverpool and Chelsea are both keen on the £60million-rated Dutch international centre-back, who has been ordered to train alone after telling Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino he wants out.
But the south coast club insist they won’t cave in and sell.
That leaves Van Dijk, 26, facing an uncertain future with club and country. He still has five years left on a six-year deal which made him the club’s highest-paid player.
And fuming St Mary’s chiefs are adamant they will happily leave Van Dijk rotting in the stands until he shows a willingness to return to the fold.
That could have a big knock-on effect for Van Dijk’s aspirations in World Cup year with Holland’s bid to reach next summer’s tournament in Russia in the balance.
They are down in third place in Group A ahead of crunch qualifiers against the nation above them, France, and below them, Bulgaria, in the next international break.
Advocaat, who defended Van Dijk’s actions to try and secure a move, said: “I am not the kind of boss who is on the phone all the time. But I am watching the situation every day. And I will deal with things, if they don’t change.”
Van Dijk has not played since January when he suffered a seasonending ankle injury.
Advocaat is desperate to have his top defender fit to face France in Paris on August 31, and added: “We need to put up a major wall against the French forwards.
“We need the best players available. And up until now I have always gone for proven quality.”
Van Dijk wants to join Liverpool and his camp are hopeful peace will eventually be brokered between the two clubs for a deal to be done.
Liverpool claimed they had ended their interest and issued a grovelling apology earlier in the summer after Saints threatened to report them to the Premier League for tapping up Van Dijk.
Saints insist they have yet to receive any concrete offers.
They don’t expect any either and are confident their emphatic stance, plus the huge sums it would take to make them reconsider, will make Van Dijk’s suitors realise bidding is a waste of time.