Liverpool's apology to Southampton looked to be the end of the Virgil van Dijk saga.

The Reds formally withdrew their interest in the Dutchman last month after the Saints accused them of approaching him illegally.

While the centre-back has made it clear he wants to move to Anfield, Mauricio Pellegrino isn't willing to part with his prize asset, even for the lofty price of £60million which is being widely reported.

The Daily Mail have it that Chelsea and Manchester City have now joined the race for his signature, so it's going to very difficult for Southampton to ward off the three Premier League giants.

However, it's admirable that they're trying to win the 26-year-old around.

According to the Telegraph, Pellegrino will once again reiterate to his skipper that he will not be allowed to go. The defender is under contract until 2022.

To that effect, he'll be reintroduced into regular first team training next week, having been made to train alone after telling his manager he wanted out of the club.

Given that an ankle injury has ruled him out since January, he'll need plenty of time to get match fit in time for the new season, which begins in two weeks.

Van Dijk can't argue 

Van Dijk must have hoped his going on strike would force Southampton to sell in time for the start of the new campaign, but they're now confident he'll accept their latest decision because he won't want potential suitors to be put off by his poor attitude.

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will be convinced by their stance.

They've taken Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, and Sadio Mane off them in recent years, and after essentially giving up on another key target in Naby Keita, Jurgen Klopp won't want to miss out on Van Dijk.

The situation is all the more urgent in light of Klopp's decision to leave Mamadou Sakho out of their pre-season tour, as that has all but confirmed the Frenchman is not part of his plans.

Should Southampton cash in on Van Dijk? Have your say in the comments.