Southampton haven’t given up hope of convincing Virgil van Dijk to stay at the club for another season, claims Yahoo Sport.
Van Dijk has been made to work alone since returning to pre-season and was even omitted from a 25-man squad for training in France after telling head coach Mauricio Pellegrino he wants to leave the club this summer.
Liverpool remain the frontrunners for his signature despite cooling their interest after Southampton reported them for approaching the player without their permission.
Chelsea and Manchester City are also still thought to be monitoring Van Dijk’s future at Saint Mary’s, but Pellegrino’s side, who want a world record sum for a defender for the 26-year-old, are still hopeful he has a future on the south coast.
Pellegrino plans to speak with Van Dijk in a bid to re-integrate his captain back into the first-team squad ahead of the new season and hopes the Netherlands international will stay for at least one more year.
Only two players had a better aerial success rate than Van Dijk (75.4%) in the Premier League last season from those that attempted at least 50 aerial duels.
