Southampton manager Claude Puel has denied star defender Virgil van Dijk has a release clause in his contract as the club brace themselves for January interest from their Premier League rivals.
Van Dijk, 25, has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining Southampton from Celtic in 2015 and has been heavily linked with a high profile move to the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United next month.
Reports only intensified after it was claimed the Netherlands international has a buy-out clause of £25m in his existing deal, which is due to expire in 2022.
City, Chelsea and United are all expected to strengthen their defence in the coming transfer windows, but they will have to pay more than £25m to secure his services, as Puel denied any such clause.
“It is not true,” the London Evening Standard quote Puel as saying. “After this I make no comment about speculation, just to say that Virgil is an important player for the first team. For me it’s not a possibility to see him leave.”
Since joining Southampton at the start of last season no player has been awarded the WhoScored Man of the Match more times than Van Dijk (11).
For more stats on Virgil Van Dijk, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
