Mauricio Pellegrino will attempt to personally broker a compromise between the Southampton board and Virgil van Dijk by telling the club captain that the stance over refusing a sale to Liverpool has not softened.

Van Dijk and the directors remain locked in a damaging stand-off that has left their star player having taken no part in any pre-season matches, or indeed full training, this summer. He now appears almost certain to miss the first Premier League game against Swansea City next Saturday.

Southampton had hoped that they could begin the process of reintegrating Van Dijk into first-team training after the club returned from a camp in France but, according to Pellegrino, the Dutchman does not want to play.