Liverpool received a big blow to their hopes of signing Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk as Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger stated that the player is “not for sale in this transfer window”, the Independent reports.

This summer has seen a lot of acrimonious action during transfers – Diego Costa at Chelsea, Van Dijk at Southampton and dare I say, Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool.

The Saints’ 26-year-old centre-back has set his eyes on a move to Anfield and was actively pursued all through the summer. However, things took an ugly turn after Southampton reported Liverpool to the Premier League for an alleged illegal approach following which the Reds had to issue a public apology.

The story wasn’t over with that as the player refused to join Southampton’s pre-season tour and trained alone, in an apparent attempt to force an exit. All this while, Southampton maintained their stance that they will not be forced into selling their key player. The Dutch international then handed in a transfer request last week, but Krueger has reiterated the stance and has indicated that it is not a personal decision.

“Virgil is not for sale in this window and it’s not personal,” the chairman said as quoted by the Independent.

“It’s not about him, it’s about an overall much, much, much bigger picture – a change of course for Southampton. We want to mature, we want to be a team that can profit from synergies that create a much more attractive football and a better product for the fans, and gives us a chance to get back into Europe.

“That’s one player in this whole equation of 25 and it is the visible one, but for us it’s the principle and it’s the path and it’s the statement we need to make to get to a new space as a club. We are very, very adamant about carrying this through.

“The new partnership has completely and wholly backed our strategy and plan and on September 1 people will see how serious we were and are.”

Liverpool started the campaign this season with a high-scoring 3-3 draw at Watford which highlighted our shortcomings in the defence. Critics were quick to point out that Jurgen Klopp needs more signings to set things right.

Van Dijk was expected to join soon and shore the defence up but with this latest note from the Southampton chairman, it looks like the deal will take longer.

What happens next? There are precedents from the past where players had their way and forced the club to sell, especially when in the final year of their contracts. Van Dijk is not in that category but the Saints will feel the pressure of having a disgruntled player in their ranks.

Klopp hit out at the transfer window going beyond the start of the new season as it affects the players. He may have had the Coutinho saga in his mind when he said that but it looks like Southampton would also welcome that opinion.

Will Van Dijk’s transfer happen this summer? What do you think?

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