Southampton accept Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk apology and tell the player they want him to stay
Saints happy to end row with Liverpool as Premier League prepare to drop tapping up complaint into Van Dijk transfer
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SOUTHAMPTON have accepted Liverpool's grovelling apology for the way they tried to sign Virgil van Dijk.
Saints made a complaint to the Premier League accusing Liverpool of tapping up their £60million defender after the Reds went public and claimed the player wanted to move to Anfield.
But the South Coast club have now decided Liverpool's embarrassing public climbdown where they ended their interest in the Dutchman is enough for them to drop their complaint.
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Now the Premier League are ready to end any inquiry into whether Anfield bosses broke regulations by making an illegal approach for the player.
And Saints have told Van Dijk they still want him to stay at St Mary's and honour the five-year contract he has with the club.
The former Celtic star clearly had his head turned by Liverpool, amid claims he had flown to Blackpool for a meeting with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
But Southampton are hopeful they can convince the 25-year-old he should remain with the club even though there is still interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.
In a major cock-up at Anfield, the club briefed they had secured the services of Van Dijk before any deal had been agreed between Liverpool and Southampton.
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He was Klopp's first-choice transfer target this summer, but now they have been forced to end their interest in an attempt to save face and avoid being severely punished by the Premier League.
SunSport understands the club were worried they could be hit with a huge fine or even a transfer ban by the League, such was the severity of the charge against them.
Liverpool are already serving a two-year suspension from signing Academy players having broken Premier League rules over the way they approached potential young signings.
And they feared a similar punishment if Southampton's complaint was upheld - which would have been a major blow as they try to build a squad capable of finally winning the Premier League.
It has also been claimed the club's American owners ordered the apology to be made - angry at the damage to the reputation of Liverpool the row had caused.
Klopp wanted Van Dijk to be a major part of his plans for next season, and was ready to make hikm the most expensive defender in football by paying £65million to get his man.
Now those plans are in ruins because someone within Anfield took the decision to leak details about the talks to the media.
The Liverpool statement said: "Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs.
“We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.
“We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player."