Mauricio Pellegrino has hinted that Virgil van Dijk is close to leaving Southampton after leaving the defender out of his matchday squad.

The Netherlands international was not involved on Tuesday afternoon as the Saints went down 5-2 to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.

Van Dijk, who has now been unused in his side's last three outings, is reportedly on the radar of both Manchester City and Liverpool ahead of next week's transfer window.

Asked why the centre-back was omitted once again, Pellegrino told reporters: "I have to decide what's best for the team and around Virgil there has been a lot of speculation. The manager decides what is the best.

"We win, draw and lose, with and without Virgil. We have to wait until January. I can't control the market so we'll see what happens. We tried to do the best for the team.

"The board decided to try to keep our best player at the club. This situation is a big learning curve for everybody and now we decide what is the best for the club."

Liverpool failed with their attempt to sign Van Dijk in the summer due to an alleged illegal approach, while Man City have since emerged as the frontrunners to sign him.