Van Dijk hoping to force Liverpool move

Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk is determined to leave the club and complete a transfer to fellow Premier League side Liverpool, resulting in him being exiled from the rest of the squad by new manager Mauricio Pellegrino. 

Van Dijk has become a high priority target for a number of the Premier League's top sides this summer after regularly impressing at the heart of the Southampton defence since his arrival from Celtic. 

Liverpool, in particular, see van Dijk as a valuable member of their squad if they can complete a deal, with the player appearing to be just as interested in a potential move. 

Southampton have been adamant that they will not sell the Dutch international, who is still under a long-term contract at St Mary's. This appears to have led the 26-year-old to take matters into his own hands, telling manager Pellegrino that he wants to leave. 

Pellegrino was speaking to BBC Radio Solent and said that van Dijk is now training alone due to his desire to leave the club. He explained that he has told his player "If you don't want to be involved because you don't feel OK, you have to train alone until this period of time. I need to work with a player that works at 100 percent to defend Southampton."

Despite the move to make van Dijk train alone, Pellegrino assured fans that their relationship remains strong and he is hopeful that the star player will "review his feelings."