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Liverpool transfer target Virgil van Dijk will continue to train alone at Southampton after informing the club that he still wants to leave this summer.

The Dutch defender had showdown talks with the Saints early this week, with Southampton hoping that van Dijk would accept that he is staying on the South Coast and rejoin first-team training with Mauricio Pellegrino.

The 26-year-old had previously missed Southampton’s training camp in France.

However van Dijk is believed to informed the club that there is no change in his desire to join Liverpool, leaving Pellegrino with a big decision to make with just over a week remaining until the Premier League kicks off.

Van Dijk is short of match fitness having trained alone throughout the summer but Southampton have previously been determined not to sell to Liverpool, to whom they have lost a number of players in recent years.

Earlier this summer Southampton reported the Reds to the Premier League for allegedly tapping up van Dijk, forcing Liverpool to apologise and publicly withdraw from the race to sign the defender.

Jurgen Klopp has retained an interest in the commanding centre-back, but the Reds will only return to the table should Southampton inform them that they are open to bids.

If that is the case, Liverpool are prepared to shatter their transfer record in order to obtain van Dijk.