Former Southampton attacker Matt Le Tissier has claimed that the Virgil van Dijk saga has harmed the club during the 2017-18 campaign.

Van Dijk was strongly linked with a move away from St Mary's last summer, with the Dutchman refusing to play in matches as he attempted to force a move to Liverpool.

The Saints ultimately kept hold of the defender, but he only made 12 Premier League appearances in the first half of the 2017-18 season before leaving to join Liverpool for £75m in January.

Southampton are currently going through a tough time with the club, who are looking for a new manager following the sacking of Mauricio Pellegrino, down in 17th position in the table.

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Le Tissier, who has ruled out becoming the club's new head coach, has said that Southampton will regret not selling Van Dijk in last summer's transfer window.

Le Tissier told Sky Sports:

"I think that was probably something that, looking back with hindsight, the club would probably regret, trying to keep him in the summer.

"They tried to do the right thing by the fans, in terms of not selling their best player every season, but sadly that did appear to backfire, and that situation probably didn't help the performances in the first half of the season.

"But that's life, that's football, those decisions were made with the best intentions and it didn't turn out right. It's now time to move on, appoint a new manager, and get out of the trouble we are in at the moment."

Southampton are just one point clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League as things stand, but their attention is currently on the FA Cup as they prepare to face Wigan Athletic in the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon.