Virgil Van Dijk has now officially demanded to leave Southampton Football Club, although this does not mean he will neccessarily be sold.
The statement from Van Dijk reads.
"It is with regret that I can confirm that I have today handed in a transfer request to leave Southampton football club.
"Unfortunately I feel I have no alternative after I was given notice of the club’s intention to impose a disciplinary sanction against me of a fine equivalent to 2 weeks wages.
"I will be appealing what I feel to be an unjustified sanction and their inability to follow the correct disciplinary protocol in due course.
"Over the past six months I have held numerous discussions with representatives of the board, the former manager Claude Puel as well as the new manager Mauricio Pellegrino to inform them all of my desire to leave the club in search of a new challenge.
"I am incredibly ambitious and want to achieve as much as I possibly can to fulfil my potential in what is a very short career as a professional footballer. I want to play European football again and challenge for major honours and as such I would like Southampton to consider the interest in me from top clubs should it still exist.
"I have been left frustrated by the club’s position that I am not for sale and am disappointed that enquiries from multiple top clubs have been consistently rebuffed.”
"The period of time that I have just spent injured and unable to play has put a number of things into perspective and made me realise just how important it is to take major opportunities should they arise.
"I have consistently relayed my feelings to senior management at Southampton in what I believed to be private and personal conversations. Disappointingly, these conversations have regularly found their way into the media.
"I would also like to make clear that I have never once refused to train. I can confirm that I was asked about my frame of mind and for all of the reasons mentioned above I was open and honest in saying that I did not feel I was in a settled mindset given the circumstances.
"Following this conversation the manager explained that he only wanted players who he felt were 100% committed to Southampton and told me I would therefore have to train away from the first team.
"As a proud professional I am insulted by the suggestion that it was me who refused to train and so feel it is important to point out the true version of events.
"I had very much hoped to retain the good relationship I’ve always enjoyed with everyone at the club, especially the fans, but unfortunately in light of everything that’s happened this has now been seriously affected.
"I would like to make clear that I have nothing but gratitude to everyone at Southampton for giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League.
"However, the time for me to move on is now and I hope to be able to work with the club to find the best resolution to suit all parties.”
I would not think many Saints supporters feel much sympathy for Van Dijk, yes he is upset that the club is imposing disciplinary proceedings against him, but then again all Saints supporters are upset that he was not in a settled mindset to train, he should be a professional and let us be blunt he is not the first player in the history of the game who has been denied a move when under contract to a club, the difference is most go about things the right way and continue to fufill the terms of that contract by training and playing, to be blunt Van Dijk hasn't suffered a personal tragedy such as a death in the family, he has merely been told that he cant get his own way all of the time.
He says he is insulted by the suggestion that he has refused to train, I personally as a Southampton supporter am insulted by the fact that a player who earns more in a week than most of our supporters earn in two years is not playing in our first team and is not fufilling the terms of his contract. I am insulted that he has gone behind the back of the club who have been paying him well for the last six months whilst he has been unable to play and spoken to another club illegally.
Whatever way you want to dress it up he has admitted himself he is not in the right frame of mind and that is why he is not in the squad.
Saints have now taken off the kid gloves, they have clearly had enough of the behaviour of a player who was once considered a model professional and have taken disciplinary measures, clearly this has pushed the issue to breaking point and it now looks that there is no return for the player although ironically Louis Suarez had a similar psoition a few years ago and stayed and played another year before going to Barcelona.
Saints are showing that they are in no mood to sell and Van Dijk has finally realised that and doesn't like it one bit, he feels that he can break a contract as and when he wants.
The irony is if he and allegedly Liverpool had gone about things the right way then the move would probably have happened, but it seems both of them wanted to get things done slyly and on the cheap.
It is a sad day for Southampton Football Club and a sad day for football when players try to have it both ways, Saints have been fair with Van Dijk and honest with him he has not done the same, when he complains that conversations between club and player have found their way into the media, perhaps he should consider how the media interest started with Liverpool bragging that they were close to a deal.
Saints have not commented on what Van Dijk has or has not said in the media nor have they leaked it, all along they have said that it was the managers choice for him not to be in the squad, all along they said that they hoped he would rejoin the squad, they handed him olive branches and at no time did they comment on what he had said to them privately.
A year ago he was happy at Southampton FC, then in December last year he changed agents to Rob Jansen, the man who lured Ronald Koeman to Everton, read into that what you like, this site predicted the outcome in an article back then, now it is coming true.