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Virgil van Dijk has handed in a transfer request, formalising his desire to leave Southampton in a bid to invite offers from some of the Premier League’s leading clubs.
The 26-year-old, who said he was “insulted” by suggestions that he had refused to train on the south coast, has been linked with moves to Liverpool and Chelsea.
In a statement released by his representatives, Van Dijk described himself as “incredibly ambitious” and revealed he wants to play European football, but Southampton remain insistent that he will not leave this summer.
After the defender’s latest attempt to force through a move, who has the upper hand and where is he likeliest to be come September?
The news of Van Dijk’s transfer request was greeted warmly by Liverpool supporters, coming just hours after Jürgen Klopp suggested that a new centre-back was not absolutely necessary before the close of the window.
The biggest advantage that Liverpool have in their corner is that they are believed to be Van Dijk’s first choice, with the 26-year-old eager to work under Klopp at Anfield. It is, however, an advantage that only really counts if they are granted permission to speak with the player.
The fear will be that June’s accusations of ‘tapping-up’ will lead to Southampton refusing to negotiate with Liverpool out of hand. Should that happen, there is no chance of Van Dijk being on Merseyside in the autumn, no matter how much he wants to be.
Chelsea’s interest is Van Dijk has not subsided despite the signing of centre-back Antonio Rudiger from Roma earlier this summer. Indeed, it has perhaps only intensified following Antonio Conte’s regular complaints that his squad needs more depth.
Unlike Liverpool, Chelsea can be confident that if Southampton eventually decide to listen to offers for Van Dijk then their bid will be heard.
The west Londoners’ best hope is that Liverpool are frozen out of the race, leaving Van Dijk with a simple choice between Stamford Bridge or St Mary’s.
For Van Dijk, submitting a transfer request is the biggest statement of intent that he could make about his desire to leave Southampton. If anyone at the club or outside of it was unsure about how sincere he was, they now know.
Realistically though, Southampton will have been aware of Van Dijk’s ambitions since at least the start of the summer. The transfer request invites interested parties to step up their interest but does little to persuade Southampton to sell.
Transfer request submitted and statement made, Van Dijk has played his hand. One year into a six-year contract, his leverage is minimal. He can now only sit and wait for the bids to come, as they certainly will, and for the negotiations to start, as they potentially won’t.
The overarching theme of this summer’s window has been more and more clubs holding players to their contracts. In the cases of Naby Keita, Alexis Sanchez and now van Dijk, want-away players and buying clubs have been frustrated because other clubs are simply unwilling to do business.
This method of negotiation - or non-negotiation - has some interesting long-term implications for the transfer market as a whole, but none of those will interest Van Dijk, who wants his future be resolved here and now.
Southampton will apparently let Van Dijk ‘sit in the stands’ if he remains at St Mary’s on 1 September and is still intent on leaving but the club must feel that the likelihood of him doing that all season long, or even until the window re-opens in January, is slim.
Despite Van Dijk’s request, Southampton retain the upper hand. Mauricio Pellegrino’s hopes of persuading the Dutchman to play for him again will not be as far-fetched as they first seemed if the club hold firm.
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