James Ward-Prowse is convinced that defender Virgil van Dijk will stay put at Southampton this season.

Van Dijk has managed to earn a reputation as one of the finest defenders in the Premier League with his brilliant performances for Southampton over the last 18 months and the Dutch international has unsurprisingly courted the interest from a host of top clubs, with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City said to be interested in signing him this month.

Despite all the speculation though, Southampton boss Claude Puel has insisted that van Dijk will remain at St. Mary's Stadium and now teammate Ward-Prowse has also gone on to state his belief that the central defender will be staying on the south coast.

Ward-Prowse said: "Virgil is a massive player for us.

"He is a great character in the dressing room. Most importantly, he is a Southampton player and he has massive ambitions, just like every other player, and the club has massive ambitions.

"I am sure he will be a Southampton player and we can go from there."