Mauricio Pellegrino has spoken to the press ahead of the game against Watford at St Mary's on Saturday about Virgil Van Dijk.
Pellegrino stated that the fact that the club had kept Van Dijk showed the ambition of the club and its management and owners and that it did not need to sell any player, indeed it wished to keep all of it's squad at present.
The manager also confirmed that Virgil Van Dijk is back training with the first team although he has spoken of how it is now depending on the player when he returns to first action.
By this he meant that the player himself knew his fitness levels and when he would be ready for a return to action.
The manager also stated that although the player was training at the same fitness levels as the first team squad, that he would need a game under his belt before he was ready for premier league action, presumably in the U23's.
When pushed about whether meetings between himself and Van Dijk had taken place, Pellegrino confirmed that they had and that the situation was now in his own words "normal" however he would not elaborate on this other than to say that whatever had been said was a private matter between manager and player.
This would seem to indicate that contary to tabloid press speculation Van Dijk will not be in contention for the Watford game, but once he has got a U23 game under his belt then he could be available, this ties in with the reports coming from sources close to the club who have suggested that the Crystal Palace game is earmarked for the players return to the first team matchday squad if not a place in the starting line up.
Pellegrino seemed to be relaxed on the matter giving confidence that relations between manager and player are not strained and that although Van Dijk will perhaps not be happy to still be at Saints that perhaps he will see sense in the coming months and realise that there is nothing to be gained from sitting on the sidelines.
Already the usual suspects in the media are stating that Liverpool will return in January and attempt to sign the player again, hopefully it will be a lot more convivial than this summer, Saints will need to look to get the best out of a bad situation, if that is getting three good months out of Van Dijk then trousering a big transfer fee then that is better than most clubs will have in this period.
Saints now have to get their plans in place and agree with Van Dijk the way forward, if the compromise is sell him in January then we need to be identifying his replacement in the coming weeks, so that the transition is swift and seamless.