Southampton adamant Chelsea & Man City target Van Dijk is 'not for sale'

Southampton have reiterated that Virgil van Dijk is "not for sale" as the Netherlands defender continues to generate plenty of transfer interest.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City have all been linked with the highly-rated centre-back, though Everton are now reported to have turned their attention elsewhere.

All of the Premier League title chasers are said to be in the market for defensive reinforcements and Van Dijk fits the bill as a player with English top-flight experience and the potential for future improvement at 25 years of age.

Southampton, though, tied their prized asset to a new contract in May, with that agreement due to run until 2022.

With there being no need for them to sanction a switch elsewhere, and a reluctance on their part to even consider a deal during the January transfer window, executive director Les Reed has sought to bring an end to the unwelcome rumours.

He told the Daily Echo: "Virgil is not for sale.

"We haven’t had any bids and if we got any bids we wouldn’t consider them because it just doesn’t make sense to think we would release Virgil van Dijk in midseason when we have still got, we believe, all to play for.

"There haven’t been any enquiries but certainly the status of him at the moment is that he is simply not for sale."

While eager to point out that Van Dijk remains off the market, Reed has also informed Saints supporters that manager Claude Puel will only be backed to bring in reinforcements if the right players become available at the right price.

He added: "The way we operate in the transfer windows has always been the same.

"January is a very difficult window because it’s a panic window, and players who are available in January are available for a reason.

"Unless you are going to break all kinds of transfer records, or you’re the type of club that has the finances to do that, whatever you do you are going to pay over the top and probably for a player you would rather not have because the guy you want is not going to be available.

"Our focus is that we don’t panic and we are not tempted to patch things up, but we do have a situation where if an opportunity did arise and we could improve the squad then we would consider it on its merits at the time."