According to reports in the Southern Daily Echo, the Virgil van Dijk summer transfer saga has taken another twist with Southampton continuing to stand firm despite their captain refusing to reintegrate with the first team squad as they had expected him to do.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Southern Daily Echo says that the club and manager Mauricio Pellegrino had hoped that the 26-year-old would accept their stance that he will not be sold this summer and return to training with the rest of the squad this week.

Van Dijk was left behind to work on his fitness at their Staplewood base as the rest of the squad jetted off to France for their pre-season preparations last week, but the Southern Daily Echo says the Dutchman has informed the club that there has been no change in his situation and he still wants out.

The report adds that the south coast outfit had hoped that their skipper would relent, but with both sides staying strong and Liverpool continuing to be linked with a move for the centre-back the saga shows no signs of stopping.

What happens next?

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Southampton have a decision to make.

While they know they must stay strong to prevent the exodus of stars they have seen in recent summers, they must balance that feeling against the fact that they have a hugely valuable player that doesn’t want to be at the club, and one that could prove to be a bad influence on the rest of the squad and a distraction to the start of their Premier League campaign.

If Saints are to continue to fight, then Van Dijk will need to quickly accept the decision – and perhaps apologise to the supporters – in order to get playing time before 2018.

Mauricio Pellegrino will also be aware that if he can sell the 26-year-old for £60-£70m, it would allow him to significantly strengthen his squad but time is running out with the summer transfer window slamming shut at the end of the month.

What’s the verdict, then?

Well, with both Southampton and Van Dijk standing firm it will be interesting to see what develops in the coming weeks but with five years remaining on his deal at St Mary’s and with no bids for the player, the club look to hold the upper hand – at the moment, anyway.