Virgil van Dijk could be ‘the man who takes Liverpool back to winning trophies’ More

Southampton have told Virgil van Dijk and his representatives that they are still determined to block his dream move to Liverpool, Yahoo Sport have been told.

After months of agitating for a move away from Southampton, Dutch defender van Dijk finally submitted a transfer request on Monday, with the strongly worded statement issued by his management company appearing to end any hope of a resolution between the player who signed a new six-year contract last summer and his current employers.

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“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,” the statement read.

“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.