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Virgil van Dijk is close to forcing his way out of Southampton.

After tense meetings with the club this week the Liverpool target told Saints is still refusing to play for them.

Southampton now face the prospect of an embarrassing climb-down over their refusal to do business with their Anfield rivals.

Boss Mauricio Pellegrino was hoping to persuade the Dutchman to resume training with his team-mates on Tuesday, even after van Dijk had been left out of the pre-season tour of France, when he said he was in not the right state of mind to play.

(Image: Getty) (Image: Rex Features)

But now with the defender taking his stand off into a second week, and again training alone, the Saints boss knows any attempt at diplomacy is futile.

Talks yesterday were described as "crucial" to van Dijk's future at St Mary's, but he cut dead any hopes of a reconciliation, by reiterating his desire to leave, and also making clear his choice of destination is the Reds.

Executive director Les Reed was determined not to sell to Liverpool, but now he may have little option, with new boss Pellegrino growing increasingly frustrated at the impact of the situation on team morale a week away from the start of the new season.

With the Anfield outfit ready to pay close to £60m for the centre half, and van Dijk effectively refusing to play, Reed may be forced to decide the time has come to back down.

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Both Manchester City and Chelsea have pulled out of the race for the 26-year-old because of his preference for Anfield, and now Saints are facing up to the prospect of inviting Liverpool to bid.

That could come within the next week. Liverpool apologised to Southampton and publicly ended their interest in van Dijk after being accused of an illegal approach, and they will not bid again until they get a clear message an approach would be welcome.

Daniel Sturridge, meanwhile, has revealed that the thigh injury which forced him to limp out of the 3-0 win over Bayern Munich is not serious.

The injury plagued striker explained that he felt a small “tension” in the muscle, and believes it simply to be a reaction to a hard training camp, where Liverpool had three sessions a day.

Sturridge will not even undergo a scan, and will instead return to Melwood for physio assessment and treatment, with medics suggesting he should be fit for the opening weekend of the season.