Southampton manager Claude Puel has denied claims that Virgil Van Dijk has a £25m buyout clause in his contract, insisting that the defender will not be so easy to extract from St Mary's.
The Dutch international is said to be a target for Ronald Koeman at Everton, hoping for a reunion at Goodison Park after being the man to bring the 25-year-old to English football in 2015.
Manchester City have also been linked with a move for the highly-rated defender in recent weeks, with Pep Guardiola's side keeping just one clean sheet in their last 17 games in all competitions.
Van Dijk favours working with Guardiola rather than Conte. https://t.co/d2Jrdgy416 pic.twitter.com/sYxGqvVAfV
Quoted by theMirrorafter his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Puel insisted:It is not true.After this I make no comment about speculation, just to say that Virgil is an important player for the team. For me it's not a possibility to see him leave.�
Van Dijk signed for Southampton in September 2015 from Celtic for £13m, becoming a key part of the club's defence almost immediately.The Saints aren't expected to part with their man easily - with reports that they will demanda fee of £40m if the defender were to expressan interest in leaving the south coast club.
Elsewhere, fellow Saints defender Sam McQueen has also been speaking about record signing Soufiane Boufal, afterthe £16m striker scored a remarkable long-range effortin Sunday's 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Sofiane scored a fantastic goal. He did something similar against Sunderland in the EFL Cup and it was a joy to watch and be a part of it.
Everton are leading the chase to land Virgil van Dijk from Southampton. (Source: Sunday Mirror) pic.twitter.com/tlZv3PXEQg
When he first came to the club he was injured, but as soon as he was on the pitch, he was showing his qualities.His feet are mesmerising at times. He's got the quality and the ability, that can't be questioned.
He's got more to come, and he can add a bit more in terms of physicality, intelligence and decision making, but he's got real class.If he gets those small things right, he can be an unbelievable player."