Saints report Liverpool for ‘tapping up’ captain Van Dijk
Southampton have asked the Premier League to launch an investigation into whether Liverpool have made an illegal approach for Virgil van Dijk and are now adamant that their captain is not for sale at any price.
It was widely reported yesterday that Van Dijk wants to join Liverpool rather than Manchester City or Chelsea, despite Southampton saying that they have received no approach for the 25-year-old Dutchman.
Southampton were especially concerned to read repeated claims that Van Dijk had been attracted by the chance to work with Liverpool’s charismatic manager, Jürgen Klopp, and a vision for how he might fit into his team, as well as details of a prospective £180,000-aweek salary.
Premier League rules state that no club official or intermediary can make a direct or indirect approach to a player unless he is either out of contract or they have written consent from the selling club.
Liverpool have made no public comment on Van Dijk but will now be asked for their observations by the Premier League, which has not yet initiated an investigation. “Southampton have raised some concerns and we are in turn raising them with Liverpool,” said a Premier League spokesman. Liverpool were sanctioned earlier this year by the Premier League for ‘tapping up’ a schoolboy player and offering him and his family inducements. They were fined £100,000 and banned from signing academy players for at least a year.
Southampton are well aware that transfers can involve informal conversations but feel that a line may have been crossed and want the Premier League to find out whether there has been any contact between Liverpool and Van Dijk.
Significantly, their stance over Van Dijk will also have been hardened by the reports. They regard a fee of £50million or £60million as insufficient for a player who signed a contract only last summer until 2022.
Club sources also said yesterday that the attitude of the three-man board – chairman Ralph Krueger, and directors Les
Reed and Martin Semmens – was that Van Dijk would not be sold. That position will be treated with some caution by most observers given that Southampton have generally traded their best players, including Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mané and Rickie Lambert, directly to Liverpool over the last three summers. However, with the club still negotiating over an ownership restructure with major Chinese investors, they are adamant that their approach this summer will be different.
“The trading in the last three summers was often out of necessity,” Krueger told The Daily Telegraph. “We have contracts in place like never before. We go into the first summer ever where we do not have to sell a player. We built longevity in the contracts and that gives you a chance to move with a core of players into multiple seasons and build some synergy. Our goal is to keep the core in place.”
While Southampton might be planning for on-field stability, a managerial change remains likely. Claude Puel is on holiday and, while no final decision has been made, the club are still assessing potential replacements for the Frenchman after turning down the opportunity to recruit Marco Silva, who is now at Watford. Liverpool’s American owners, Fenway Sports Group, have said that Klopp would be given significant backing in the transfer market this summer and are believed to be willing to part with around £60 million for Van Dijk.