Saints new manager Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed that the club's position remains unchanged on Virgil Van Dijk.
Mauricio Pellegrino has spoken about how he would still like to see Virgil Van Dijk return to the first team squad, but that moment is not yet right to happen.
"I would like to bring the boy and to persuade him that he’s important for us and the club will not sell him.
"We are expecting the best for everyone, even for Virgil, but he doesn't want to be part of the team.
"This is the reason he is aside from the team.”
Despite the players protests, Pellegrino insists the Saints' position has yet to change.
"We continue in the same way. The situation is the same.
"I can’t say no more, because the situation is the boy is aside of the team because he doesn't want to play for us.”
This means that the stalemate will likely continue with Liverpool not wishing to risk making an approach and being charged by the FA with an illegal approach, that could bring on a transfer embargo on to the Anfield Club and they do not wish that to happen with 4 weeks to go of the transfer window.
So the situation continues with Van Dijk being forced to try and persuade Saints to virtually send a written invitation to Anfield asking them to sign him by behaving like a spoilt brat.
That will not happen and it seems that Saints are prepared not to blink on this one and stand firm.
The saddest thing is that Van Dijk seems to be prepared to risk everything (well apart from his £7 million share of the deal if he doesn't ask for a transfer) to push this through, a position he really should not have been put in by a supposedly caring future employer.
Not least he is jeapordising his Country's World Cup hopes that already stand on a knife edge, they face a trip to France on 31st August in a game that if they lose will all but end their hopes of Qualifying for Russia 2018, especially if a few days later they fail to beat Bulgaria and the French beat Luxembourg at home.
The fact that Van Dijk is not willing to care about his country at a desperate time in his quest to get a big pay day at Liverpool perhaps shows his mindset.
The longer this situation goes on perhaps shows that Saints are better off without a player of this character in their squad, however most Saints supporters would still rather that the club make a stance and show that petulance cannot be allowed to prosper.
The next step will be for Van Dijk to put in a transfer request, but he will be loathe to do this for financial reasons, no matter how much pressure he is put on by his agent and allegedly Liverpool.
In the final week of the transfer window if the stalemate persists then Liverpool might have to take the risk of making a bid, something they are also loathe to do because of the consequences, but until they do how can Saints do anything ?
The most ideal situation for most Saints supporters would be that Saints now go out and sign two Premier Quality central defenders, around £30 million would secure both Kevin Wimmer from Spurs and Wesly Hoedt from Lazio for example and that Van Dijk would be kept at St Mary's till the January transfer window to prove a point.
Saints have the money to do this and need to do it fast to show the supporters that they mean business and are in command of the situation.