Bad news for Saints fans in that Ladbrokes have decided that Virgil Van Dijk to Anfield is a done deal and have suspended betting.

Betting firm Ladbrokes have stopped taking money on where Virgil Van Dijk will play his football next season. after the odds were slashed from from 4/7 to 1/8 to land the Southampton centre-half.

The odds for City to sign Van Dijk also shortened to 9/4 but Ladbrokes feel that this is a done deal and are not taking any more money on it.

Liverpool are being said to trump City's offer of £180k per week for the Dutch defender and pay him £200 k, this is of course far beyond the reach of Saints and they cannot hope to match that sort of price.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said:

“Once again, the Reds look set to snatch another Saints star in the shape of Van Dijk.

“After months of speculation, it seems both clubs have come to an agreement and we won’t be taking any more bets on this market.”

However it should be said that this is a fun bet market, it is very open to insider dealing with some unscrupulous players and managers trying to tip off their mates to put on a few bob, a change in betting patterns could be enough to persuade the likes of Ladbrokes that something is going on and that they could get taken to the cleaners .

Sadly this is football today and clubs like Saints just cannot compete on this level, already social media is filling with Saints fans complaining that Saints should hold Van Dijk to his contract and slagging off the club for not doing so.

But this is modern football and in fairness to Saints the fact that they did give him a long term deal means that now the likes of Liverpool come a calling they are in a strong position and don't have to take a cheap offer.

Indeed although the media is saying that Liverpool have won the race, no one is saying that Saints have actually agreed that he can go.

This situation is occurring because people in the game are whispering it is a done deal, the rumour mill is turning, however Saints have to play ball and they will only sell Van Dijk for top dollar.

If Saints pocket £60 million plus for the player it will give us a big boost in the transfer market in the summer and enable us to strengthen the squad even further, sadly Saints fans have to get real and realise what football is these days, we play the system better than most, whilst of course we would prefer to keep Virgil Van Dijk we should trust the club to get it right .

I would say though that our PR is appalling, this should not be coming on top of the current managerial situation, the club should have had that sorted long ago, instead they are again going to enter into a period of bedwetting amongst a section of the supporter base, they should have sorted the manager out before letting Van Dijk go.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 16:38 - Jun 5 We take betting 'markets' on things like this for granted but they absurd when they involve human decisions - that guy who ate the pie was sacked but no one from the betting company that initiated the bet was. Things like transfers and manager betting are nice little (or big) earners for insiders. As for VVD going to Liverpool I will be disgusted if the club allow it. It would really affect how I feel about Saints and football in general. Kreuger said we didn't have to sell - that means he can stop players going to Liverpool...

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charlie357 added 17:26 - Jun 5 Betting companies suspending betting is usually down to the volume of bets being placed, not because they have received some insider knowledge
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SaintBrock added 17:32 - Jun 5 Me too San Marco, if these rumours become fact my support of SFC will end. I know Nick is right that this is how it is with modern footballers but they didn't ask me! Leibherr and her cronies get richer by the day and are laughing at us all the way to their Swiss bank accounts. Enough is Enough!
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Vega added 17:43 - Jun 5 it was reported that he wants city and rejected liverpool so how they still in it is a question meanwhile Puel future must be cleared ASAP.i prefer Tuchel but nothing on him for several days now.uuntil they will finally decide'he could be signing in other place
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VancouverSaint added 18:20 - Jun 5 Let's face it guys....this is the modern day game way of doing business. Money is the root of all evil! When the television rights are so obscene, transfers and wages go with it. Little old Saints can't mix with these top teams. The gap will get larger year by year. If it isn't the top six in the U.K. it's the Barca's, R Madrid's of Europe. The other "14" teams in the EPL are just playing to see who goes down each year! Sad, sad facts of today's football world. Disillusioned.......you bet!

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SanMarco added 19:30 - Jun 5 The Guardian says he has told Liverpool he wants to go there. A Tory landslide on Thursday will just about finish me off I fear....
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Vega added 19:36 - Jun 5 VancouverSaint: exactly:the teams the 8 place to the last had small points gap while the saints ended 15 points less than Everton in the 7!!everton also ended in a large gap from United.SAD REALITY indeed
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Hugh_Jarce added 20:47 - Jun 5 £60m wisely spent on improving the squad is good business for Saints. VVD deserves a bigger stage too
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bstokesaint added 21:27 - Jun 5 I'm still not convinced that VVD is desperate to get out, or go to Liverpool. If a player really believed in himself he'd know the next move was his biggest and Liverpool aren't the giant they used to be. He could earn more and win elsewhere if he was clever. As for Saints I agree with all the others, a sell to Liverpool would be hugely damaging for the club. After categorically stating "no VVD sale" this would effectively be a double u-turn. We are not a feeder club for Liverpool. It's a joke, for them and us. They are effectively unable to source their own talent and we are far too willing to invite them into our house. That said betting odds don't necessarily mean anything. This time last year one of my friends claimed he was confident (of a good source) that Klinsmann would be Konman's replacement. At the start of the day he told me I got £10 on at 75/1. By 4pm he was odds on and by the time I got home from work Paddy Power had led the call to suspend the odds. It turns out there was nothing in the rumour and a PP spokesman said a flurry of small bets at big prices in a localised area had spooked them.

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DPeps added 22:39 - Jun 5 Captain Yoshida
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WanderingSaint added 23:08 - Jun 5 Bookies are sometimes right with this sort of thing. Just to be on the safe side, I've had a cheeky fiver on Craig David to be the next Saints manager. Couldn't resist the 500/1 on offer at Paddy Power :-)
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Lazz added 06:43 - Jun 6 Van Dijk has been a very stable character at Saints and a strong presence in the changing room. As far as Saints are concerned there is no need to sell van Dijk at this point in time. They don’t need the money to finance new signings, and the view at the club is that the defender will be worth at least as much next summer as he is this given the length of his contract, his age and ability. Therefore, the only case to sell would be if a club were prepared to pay a significant premium on top of his current market value to compensate for that. Certainly that would be far in excess of the £50m touted and, in reality, would be expected to be a lot more than the £60m City had been reported to have agreed. There would also be absolutely no incentive for Saints to make a decision to sell hastily anyway. With three clubs with significant finances supposedly interested, the best chance of a high fee is for a bidding war to ensue, or for a club to really push the boat out if they get desperate. It all leaves Saints in a relaxed situation hopeful that van Dijk will still be at the club next season, and knowing that if he isn’t it will only be because they were made an eye watering offer too good for any club to refuse.

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