Wes Tender

I'm increasingly convinced that the media know this very well, realise that Saints don't want to sell Virgil, recognise that Liverpool can't make an approach without our consent, so that only leaves one conclusion that I can reach. They keep on raking over these dying embers solely as click bait or for newspaper sales, as the poor sops who support Liverpool lap it all up. Their fans' sense of entitlement means that they are gullible enough to believe that they will get the deal over the line, that it isn't a matter of how, but when.

Where did I say that I liked their fans? Does one have to like the Liverpool fans particularly if one acknowledges that some of them have a reasonable sense of humour? No doubt it is only a matter of a few hours before we start to see the tweets from them suggesting that they sign Hoedt now instead of in a years time, in order to save time and money.

Where was I defending Liverpool fans? I was suggesting that some of them had a decent sense of humour, something that you apparently lack if you didn't find those tweets even mildly amusing.

Sainte Etienne was a decent test for us, also 8th in their top division, although arguably the PL is stronger down at that level. I was interested to read that they have the best results historically of any French club, but their glory days are well behind them now (a bit like Liverpool )

Here is a fellow countryman of Boufal's with some insane skills and only 19. - Hachim Mastour. Here are some of his highlights, including some footage of him playing against us pre-season a year ago at Zwolle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVSSo6uJwbA And demonstrating similar ball-juggling skills to Neymar.

I am amused by the number of tweets from Scousers suggesting that as we are apparently after Wimmer as a partner for V-VD (in the case of the realistic ones who now accept that we will probably not sell him) then perhaps they ought to make a move for Wimmer themselves now, instead of in a years time. They could cut out the middle man, as it were. http://www.squawka.com/news/southampton-to-approach-kevin-wimmer-if-van-dijk-joins-liverpool/974792#PkhMPhr72dDVfbRw.97 Despite the accusations of Scousers seeing themselves as constant victims, at least that is countered by their reputation for having a decent sense of humour.

Yes, they can. But we would assess the player's agents at the time of signing. If they are represented by sh*t-stirrers like the Wasserman Group to begin with, at least we will be forewarned to the potential troubles that would ensue if the player really shone. Inevitably we would accept that if a player identified by the black box proved to be a real gem we would then risk losing him, but at least we would be aware of the dubious tactics that the likes of agents like Wasserman would employ right from the start. As you rightly say, he has been very badly advised and that bad advice has to laid at their door.

http://anfieldindex.com/28817/coutinho-van-dijk-keita-hypocrisy.html Here's a novelty; an even-handed and sensible Liverpool fan with a degree of humility usually lacking in the species.

I wonder whether it will enter the equation now when choosing potential new signings increasingly to take into account who their agents are, and to be wary of those players represented by the likes of Virgil's agents, the Wasserman Group.

In which case he will jeopardise his chances of attracting the really big money/glory signing with one of the giants of World football

A whole spate of extra media articles suggesting that the Virgil move to Scousehampton is still going to go ahead, based on nothing in particular. Perhaps the Liverpool loving media were told to reignite the embers in an attempt to counter the whole raft of speculation that had begun to suggest that Chelsea were now in the driving seat, to make them think that the Scousers were favourites because Virgil wanted to play for them. I am still very happy that the club are keeping quiet about it all, as it is good fun to watch the media in a frenzy of baseless speculation, and then it will be even more delicious if it doesn't happen when the transfer window slams shut.

Hell will freeze over before Virgil would be sold for any sum even remotely close to £30 million, as we are not desperate to sell him to Scousehampton or indeed anbyody else. Liverpool don't seem to have identified any alternative CBs who are better and cheaper than him, or else they would already have signed one, rather than holding out to get Virgil at a record fee. It is gradually becoming clear to the Scouse supporting media, that Liverpool have shot their bolt and it was way off target. This campaign of whispers in the media to turn Virgil's head in their direction went too far when Klopp made a bad mistake in tapping him up and now he has prevented Liverpool from making any offer for Virgil unless Saints sanction it, which they won't. Saints are playing a blinder in letting the likes of Scousehampton and Chelski believe that they can get him, simultaneously disrupting their plans to get other players in until the situation with Virgil is clarified. I become more and more confident that Virgil will not go to Liverpool under any circumstances. He may go to Chelski or abroad, but hopefully only for £70 million +. Otherwise, I believe that we will be happy to keep him and have him play one more season once he has realised that he and his agent have cocked his move up and that his best option is now to buckle down and maintain his value by proving that he is an exceptional defender worth his fee.

He doesn't have far more money than our owner. More, granted, but not substantially more. And his wealth is precarious, being as how it relies on the typical chicanery and skulduggery of the Thai methods of how to accumulate wealth and how to retain it. The main source of his wealth, the duty free shops, is due to be ended by 2020 by the Thai Military Junta government. I certainly wouldn't want owners like that here and I wonder how he got past the fit and proper persons criteria to take over Leicester anyway.

It was at the time.

I bear Scousehampton little or no malice. On the other hand, I gain quite a bit of satisfaction at the way we constantly pull their pants down with the prices they pay for our players.

Why would we want to offer him a new contract? The ink has hardly dried on the last one yet.

I agree totally, this is the crunch, not only with Liverpool, but also the other glory teams. As you say, Les will see the fan base go into meltdown if Virgil is sold to Liverpool, but if we stand firm and deny his departure, he will not only receive the plaudits from us, but also the gratitude of the other clubs below the top six. Somebody has to make a stand against agents and players adopting these sorts of tactics and we are well placed to take a lead from a position of strength where we do not need to sell, either financially or contractually. I did entertain the amusing thought earlier, when considering the probability that Liverpool had surreptitiously briefed prominent ex-players to stick their oar in, that we should have made it clear that for every intervention by such an ex-player in the media, Virgil's sale price would increase by £1 million. That would either have resulted in a quick plea from Liverpool to their ex-players to shut up, or the asking price would be about £8 million higher by now.

I think that Virgil has been very badly advised by his agent, who naturally is greedy to milk his client's value for as much dosh as he can, something that can only be achieved by arranging his sale to the highest bidder. Liverpool have also acted very badly in the way that they tapped him up and turned his head towards wanting to go to them as a preference. Liverpool have shot their bolt and despite a strategy that has probably been orchestrated by them to get their best known ex-players to agitate the continuation of their desire to sign him, Saints still hold the whip hand in any negotiations on him. It would be satisfying to believe that Saints are playing to a strategy that could have serious implications for us in the future where many of the glory clubs think that we are a soft touch when it comes to us unearthing good players, or developing them through our academy and then being almost powerless to keep them when the big boys come calling for them. Liverpool have been the main culprits and we have an opportunity to burn their fingers and send out a message to others that we can stand our ground when it suits us. In order for Liverpool to get Virgil, they think that getting him to throw a strop will want us to get rid of him, maybe even for a reduced price. Because of the risk of penalties from the authorities, they can't make a direct offer unless he puts in a transfer request and if he does so, he loses his loyalty bunus. Saints could diffuse that situation by stating categorically that they will under no circumstances sell to Liverpool. They have said that he is not for sale, although that is being ignored by Liverpool's fans, who see him going on strike as increasing their chances of signing him. Liverpool's lack of activity in signing a replacement CB is indicative of that. We only have a short time left until the transfer window closes and if we hold out until it closes, Liverpool might be either left with a weakened defence, or forced to sign a late replacement, thus making the situation more convoluted for them at the time of the January transfer window, or next summer's. It is a game of poker where we hold all the cards, Virgil being on a long contract, we not having to sell, his value probably only going to increase by next year, and sending out a message that we can play hard ball when it suits us. Once the window closes, Virgil will either have to fall in line and relent, or risk his value and saleability suffering as a result of his poor attitude. If his agent had any sense, he would then advise Virgil to knuckle down and have a storming season to increase his stock and potentially attract much bigger clubs than Liverpool. I am increasingly confident that Virgil will still be wearing a Saints shirt at the Swansea match and that Liverpool will have egg all over their face from the inept way that they handled this saga.

As far as I know, we haven't heard from Ian Rush, Alan Hanson and Lawro either yet. Do they think that the more scouse club has-beens they wheel out, the easier it will become to wear us down, until we eventually relent? They don't seem to realise that increasingly they are becoming more of a laughing stock with every intervention.

Saints undefeated in pre-season so far and have not conceded any goals.

Tweeted by Gary Lineker:- Fullback Kyle Walker becomes the world's most expensive defender at 50 million plus. Imagine how much he would cost if he could cross the ball. Bertrand can cross a ball quite well.

It's all about opinions. And in my opinion Bertrand is by far the better all round player than Walker. Quite how Walker gets into the England team is beyond me. He might have a turn of pace, but his decision making and temperament are poor. Spurs won't miss him that much.

Here is a transcript of the messages Klopp sent to Virgil :- https://whatahowler.com/dt-exclusive-jurgen-klopps-secret-messages-to-virgil-van-dijk-3d8d3bd02ca3

That sounds more like grooming than tapping up!