Saints have yet to receive any offers for want away defender Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutch centre half handed in a transfer request on Monday morning, after weeks of agitating for a move away from St Mary’s.

However, the Daily Echo understands that no offers for the 26-year-old have been submitted to Saints.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City have all been linked with van Dijk over the course of the summer, but nobody has broken rank with an official offer, even after the transfer request.

It leaves van Dijk frozen out of the first team picture on the eve of the new season, while it is understood that Saints are maintaining their stance that van Dijk is not for sale.

Certainly any notion that van Dijk’s transfer request will push Saints into a position where they feel they have to accept an offer below their valuation to move on a troublesome player seems to be far from correct.

Saints still hope that van Dijk may accept he is staying at the club and come back into the squad, with manager Mauricio Pellegrino adding: "Virgil is an important player and we need him focusing on our club." However, there appears little sign that the Dutchman is going to take that route at present.

The more likely scenario appears to be that the stand-off will continue beyond the start of the season tomorrow, when Saints host Swansea at St Mary’s, and continue towards the close of the transfer window.

Whether Saints’ stance would change if van Dijk holds firm and an offer of £60m or more comes in remains to be seen.

There is also uncertainty as to just what would transpire if there is no suitable bid, or Saints reject all approaches and stick to their guns until the transfer window closes.

Saints don’t really feel that van Dijk’s transfer request has changed anything, as they felt he had made it perfectly clear he wanted to leave anyway, and they told him they expect him to continue to honour the five years he has left on his contract.

What perhaps took those at St Mary’s by surprise was the lengthy statement van Dijk issued.

In it he wrote: “Over the past six months I have held numerous discussions with representatives of the board, the former manager Claude Puel as well as the new manager Mauricio Pellegrino to inform them all of my desire to leave the club in search of a new challenge.

“I am incredibly ambitious and want to achieve as much as I possibly can to fulfil my potential in what is a very short career as a professional footballer. I want to play European football again and challenge for major honours and as such I would like Southampton to consider the interest in me from top clubs should it still exist.

“I have been left frustrated by the club’s position that I am not for sale and am disappointed that enquiries from multiple top clubs have been consistently rebuffed.”

Pellegrino is today expected to have say on the situation as he takes part in his first official press conference as Saints manager ahead of tomorrow’s game.