Southampton prepared to turn down £60M for Van Dijk, says chairman

It may take more than a world-record fee for a defender in order to pry Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.

Club chairman Ralph Krueger - who has maintained for some time the Saints will not entertain offers for their captain - said Tuesday they could turn down a bid as high as £60 million for the Dutchman.

"Can we? Yes," Krueger told PA Sport's Simon Peach. "... I'll tell you again, we do not need to sell anybody."

Paris Saint-Germain set the benchmark in 2014 when it coughed up £50 million to sign David Luiz from Chelsea. A bid would have to shatter the current ceiling, and even then Southampton may not budge.

Van Dijk's season ended in January after he damaged ligaments in his ankle - an injury that forced him to miss the trip to Wembley for the EFL Cup final.

Before that, his impressive performances in the heart of defence reportedly turned heads at Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City.

Considered strong in the air and equally proficient in possession, Van Dijk has all the characteristics managers covet in a modern-day centre-back.

He's under contract until 2022, giving Southampton the upper hand in any negotiation process.

Southampton is clearly trying to shed its reputation as a selling club. The likes of Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, and Morgan Schneiderlin all left in recent years for bigger opportunities in the Premier League.

There are no such fears anymore.

"Here we sit in the summer of '17 and we now have 18 top, or above average, Premier League players under three- or more year contracts," Krueger added. "We actually have 12 players that have more than four years, so 49 months, left on their contract, and even a couple with 61 months.

"So 18 players have more than three years. (It) gives us control over the summer for the first time."

The St Mary's outfit ends the season with matches against Manchester United and Stoke City as it looks to finish in the top half of the table for a fourth consecutive year.