Southampton would reportedly rather leave Virgil van Dijk in the stands than sell him to Liverpool, boosting Arsenal’s chances of procuring his signature this summer.

Southampton are so upset with Liverpool that they’d rather leave van Dijk out of their squad altogether than allow him to move to Anfield. That’s according to the Daily Express via Team Talk, who claim an insider told them that Southampton have no intention of selling to Liverpool.

That could offer some hope to other interested parties, such as Arsenal and Chelsea. Van Dijk is believed to only want a move to Liverpool, but might not have a say in the matter if Southampton get their way.

Liverpool have a history of buying players from Southampton and crossed the line this summer after the Saints accused them of tapping up van Dijk. Liverpool were forced to publicly apologise and drop their interest.

That, though, has not killed the speculation that van Dijk could end up a Liverpool player by the end of the window. Van Dijk has even handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force a move.

While Southampton don’t want to sell, the Express claim that they could sell for £60m. The fact that van Dijk signed a new six-year contract last season doesn’t help matters. if Arsenal are interested, they will almost certainly have to pay a huge fee.