£50M Van Dijk told Saints won’t sell him

SOUTHAMPTON chairman Ralph Krueger has emphatically ended defender Virgil van Dijk’s hopes of quitting the club this month.

Van Dijk slapped in a transfer request 10 days ago in a bid to force his way out, with

Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all keen.

But speaking publicly for the first time since the wantaway Dutchman, 26, ramped up his attempts to leave, Krueger said: “Nobody is for sale that we don’t want to sell, and so he is not for sale in this window. We have said it more than once.”

Saints’ stance on all their players has been so firm and crystal clear this summer, they are not expecting any of Van Dijk’s suitors to bid big enough to make them potentially reconsider.

“Manager Mauricio Pellegrino has done an amazing job of dealing with this situation. It has not disrupted our team or caused a lack of focus,” Krueger added.

“And, of course, everybody will open their arms when Virgil comes back and we go at it.”

Holland boss Dick Advocaat added to Van Dijk’s troubles last night, when he left him out of the national squad for the next two vital World Cup qualifiers.

The Dutch – third in Group A – take on France on August 31 and Bulgaria on September 3. Defeat in Paris could spell the end of Van Dijk’s dream of making it to Russia next year.