Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk has been left out of Southampton's 25-man squad for their pre-season training camp in France.
The Dutch defender has been training away from the main group in the last week after reiterating his deisre to leave Southampton to manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
Southampton want to command a world record fee for a defender to sell Van Dijk and his future looks increasingly away from the club after being omitted from Pellegrino’s plans in France.
The 26-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool earlier in the transfer window but Jurgen Klopp’s side were forced to abandon their plans after Southampton complained about the aggressive nature of their pursuit.
Van Dijk has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining Southampton from Celtic two years ago.
Virgil van Dijk: Only 2 players had a better aerial success than Van Dijk (75.4%) in the Premier League last season (50+ aerial duels) pic.twitter.com/stmexqdNhH
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 21, 2017
In that time, Van Dijk, who hasn’t played since suffering a serious ankle injury in January, has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award more times than any other defender (10).
Chelsea and Manchester City are also interested in the towering centre-back, but Van Dijk has made it clear he only has eyes for Anfield and Klopp's side remain favourites to sign him despite previously taking a back seat in the chase for his signature.
