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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 08/06/2017 23:01:11

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| Liverpool FC falter in Van Dijk back-up transfer plan – Click LiverpoolCLICKLIVERPOOL |
| | Liverpool round-up: Virgil Van Dijk deal not dead yet; Lucas hints at exit; Danny Ward wants Huddersfield moveTHEBOOTROOM |
| | Chelsea round-up: Leicester star wanted; Van Dijk interest shock; Costa exit bombshellTHEBOOTROOM |
| | Southampton would be foolish to turn down £60m Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool, says Matt Le TissierSQUAWKA |

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@MirrorFootball - Mirror Football

  1. Southampton value Virgil van Dijk at about £70m — not that it matters, as they aren’t selling anyway #Saintsfchttps://twitter.com/i/web/status/872929636585439232

Retweets: 16

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 00:01:19

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| There Might Still Be Chances Of Liverpool Signing Virgil van Dijk – But On This One Condition – The Kop Times | …THEKOPTIMES |
| | After Van Dijk failure, Benjamin Mendy must be Liverpool’s priorityHEREISTHECITY |
| | Chelsea? Manchester City? Where’s Van Dijk Heading?SPORTSCOURANT |
| | Q&A - What do S’ton fans think of Liverpool’s interest in van Dijk?ROUSINGTHEKOP |
| | Is Shane Long’s time at Southampton coming to an end?READSOUTHAMPTON |
| | Chelsea podcast: Latest on Costa saga, Lukaku move and Van DijkFOOTBALLLONDON |
| | England News: Fraser Forster out to overhaul Joe Hart and become number one goalkeeperGOALDOTCOM |
| | Transfer News: Liverpool FC in pursuit of Stefan De Vrij as Virgil Van Dijk replacementTHEHARDTACKLE |

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Sourced from ESPN FC article

“Tapping up” Q and A: Southampton’s accusations at Liverpool over Van Dijk

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Liverpool have abandoned their hopes of signing Virgil van Dijk and apologised to Southampton for “any misunderstanding” over their interest after they were accused of “tapping up” the player.

But what is “tapping up”? The most famous case in recent history was arguably Ashley Cole’s move from Arsenal to Chelsea back in 2005 when the player, as well as Chelsea and their manager Jose Mourinho, were fined.

Via email, ESPN FC asked Ross Brown, senior associate at sports law practice Onside Sport, to explain what “tapping up” constitutes.

Q. What exactly is “tapping up”? Does the term relate to a specific act or is it a general term for unauthorised transfer approaches?

A. “Tapping up” is the informal term for prohibited player approaches. The Premier League Rules state that a club shall only approach a player with a view to signing him:

Where the player is out of contract;

With the prior permission of the club the player is contracted to; or

After the third Saturday in May and before 1 July, where a player becomes out of contract on that July 1, and has either not been made, or has rejected, an offer from the club he is contracted to.

Any other approach by a club, its officials, players, intermediary or any other person on its behalf will be a breach of the rules (i.e. “tapping up.”) Similarly, no contracted player or a person on his behalf can approach a club with a view to signing for them without the permission of the club he is contracted to.

In particular, any statement made publicly by or on behalf of a club expressing interest in acquiring a contracted player, or by a contracted player expressing interest in transferring to another club, will be treated as an indirect approach. Therefore, for example, statements of admiration for a player made by a manager in the press may amount to tapping up if those statements are intended to entice or destabilise a player.

Q. Who is responsible for regulating transfer activity, and what sanctions do they have the power to hand out?

A. Generally, transfers are regulated by the association and/or league the player is registered in. Therefore, transfers involving Premier League players will be dealt with by the Football Association and the Premier League. The consequences of breaching the Premier League Rules on player approaches include reprimands, fines, transfer bans and points deductions.

Q. Isn’t it just the case that a lot of transfers start with “tapping up” of some sort or other, but clubs rarely complain because they are happy to sell?

A. It is alleged that tapping up in one form or another is rife in football. However, it is extremely hard to police and enforce. Usually, where a player has had his head turned by another club, it is in the long term interests of the club to sell the player rather than having a demotivated, costly player on their books who may negatively affect the dressing room.

Consequently, there is often little incentive for a club to refuse to sell a player, or to make an allegation of tapping up where the punishments handed out to offending clubs generally have a limited impact on that club either financially or in a sporting context, particularly if the complaining club has participated in similar activity itself.

Q. We often hear that players have already agreed terms on a deal when a transfer fee is yet to be agreed. When does a club “cross the line” between what is acceptable and what is not?

A. Generally, once a club has given permission for the buying club to speak with a player, negotiations between the clubs regarding the transfer fee happen at the same time as contract negotiations take place between the buying club and the player. This means that terms can be agreed before a final transfer fee is agreed. Therefore, the buying club and the player will only “cross the line” where discussions have taken place before the selling club has given permission to approach the player.

Q. Is there a prescribed order in which the stages of a transfer should be conducted?

A. Whilst there is no set order in which a transfer should be conducted, generally speaking the typical process is as follows:

The buying club seeks permission of the selling club to speak to a player;

Negotiations commence between the clubs regarding a transfer fee, and with the player regarding contract terms;

Once contract terms are agreed with the player, the club will require him to undergo a medical;

Where required, the club will obtain appropriate work permits or visas;

If a fee is agreed and the medical passed, the transfer agreement and playing contract will be signed;

Simultaneously, the clubs will complete and file the relevant registration documentation with the Football Association;

If necessary, the clubs will also be required to obtain international transfer clearance where the player is being transferred to/from another association.

Q. What is a potential buying club allowed to do regarding a transfer without getting permission from the club that owns the player?

A. Where a club has not been given permission to approach a player, there is very little that they can do to engineer a transfer other than continue negotiations with the selling club in order to obtain permission. As set out above, any approach to a player without permission will be in breach of the Premier League rules. Notwithstanding this, a player may choose to breach his contract and leave his club. However, this will ultimately result in their club refusing to transfer the player’s registration and seeking compensation for breach of contract.

Q. Which are the cases that have set precedents in transfer regulations, or the ones that have been the especially high-profile?

A. The most high profile “tapping up” case involved Arsenal’s Ashley Cole in 2005. Without Arsenal’s permission, Cole met with Chelsea officials to discuss a move. The Premier League disciplinary committee found that Cole, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea had committed rule breaches and fined them £100,000, £200,000 and £300,000 respectively, as well as imposing a suspended three-point deduction on Chelsea in respect of its future conduct.

Cole’s agent Jonathan Barnett also had his license suspended for 18 months and was fined £100,000. Several other clubs – including Everton over Jamaal Lascelles in 2014 – have also been given fines and/or had transfer bans imposed upon them for similar breaches.

Q. Are the regulations different for transfers involving youth players?

A. Broadly the rules are the same, save that where a player is under the age of 24 a compensation payment must be made, even if the player is out of contract. This is to compensate clubs for the time they have put into developing young players and encourages clubs to invest in youth.

Usually the compensation payment will be agreed between the two clubs but, if not, the transfer will be referred by the clubs to the Professional Football Compensation Committee to decide the fee.

Tony Mabert is a senior editor for ESPN FC. Follow him @TonyMabertESPN

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 01:01:33

| | ‘Better than Henry’ ‘Basically Pele’ - Liverpool fans explode as star in the making shows Klopp what he’s gotFOOTBALLFANCAST |
| | Lander Sports Reported To Be Celebrating Saints Takeover - Southampton NewsTHEUGLYINSIDE |

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Sourced from A tweet by talkSPORT tweet

@talkSPORT - talkSPORT

Premier League waits before deciding whether to probe Virgil van Dijk case http://tlks.pt/l9rFjW #LFC #SaintsFC

Retweets: 8

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 06:02:47

| | Southampton takeover deal moves closer, but not completeNBCSPORTS |
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| Reports: Southampton FC set for Chinese takeoverSTMARYSMUSINGS |

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup dream is over

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Sir Ben Ainslie’s hopes of delivering a first America’s Cup title to a British team ended in semi-final defeat to New Zealand tonight.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist saw his Land Rover BAR team, based in Portsmouth, lose 5-2 to New Zealand - who recovered from a capsize on Tuesday to advance to the challenger final.

The 35th America’s Cup is taking place in Bermuda, where high winds meant there was no action on the water throughout Wednesday.

Entering today needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit, Britain lost the day’s first race to fall even further behind.

Ainslie and his crew rallied to win the next race but an error in the third was all New Zealand needed to pounce for the vital win.

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Sourced from The Telegraph article

Southampton stand firm over Virgil van Dijk following Liverpool interest

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Southampton have told Virgil van Dijk that he is not for sale this summer and believe that their complaint over Liverpool’s conduct – which may still result in a formal Premier League investigation – has shown how serious they are about their stance.

Liverpool were ready to pay a world-record £60 million fee for a defender for Van Dijk but Southampton were infuriated by stories suggesting that he wanted to join them and ultimately forced a public apology and promise from Liverpool that they would not pursue the player.

Van Dijk is only one season into a six-year deal and, amid interest also from Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, Southampton have made it clear that they now expect their captain to return focused for pre-season following the injury that has sidelined him since January.

The Premier League is awaiting observations from Liverpool and Southampton before deciding whether any action will be taken over the south coast club’s demand for an investigation into whether there had been an illegal approach. Liverpool do not expect to know for certain if they will be in the clear until next week.

Southampton have sold star players in each of the previous three summers and, while offers in the region of £70 million may cause a reappraisal, now believe that he will stay.

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Lander Holdings ‘close’ to agreeing Southampton takeover deal

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Chinese investment company Lander Holdings believe they are close to agreeing a deal to buy a controlling stake in Southampton, according to Sky sources.

If the deal goes ahead, Lander would buy an 80 per cent stake and the Premier League club would be valued at more than £200m.

Despite Lander’s confidence, Sky Sports News HQ understands a deal is a long way from being completed.

Lander is a construction and investment company who are run by Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng.

Chinese investors have already bought English clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City.

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EXCLUSIVE: Former Leeds boss Garry Monk emerges as contender for Southampton job

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Garry Monk is in line to replace Claude Puel at Southampton

Puel is close to being axed as Saints chiefs consider replacements for the Frenchman.

And Starsport can reveal Monk is in the frame to take charge and make a quickfire return to the dugout following his exit from Leeds last month.

Monk quit the Championship outfit following a row over the length of his new contract and the hiring of a director of football.

He has been since been linked with the vacant jobs at north east pair Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 07:03:01

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| Not Rodriguez, Not Isco – Liverpool Table A Firm £43 million Bid For Real Madrid Attacker – The Kop Times | …THEKOPTIMES |
| | Virgil van Dijk sends cryptic message to Liverpool fans on Twitter | FootballSPORTREVIEWCOM |

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

No bids as Bertrand talk follows Van Dijk saga

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RYAN Bertrand is the latest of Saints’ prized assets after Virgil van Dijk to be front and centre of transfer speculation.

But, as with Van Dijk, it is understood that so far no bid is yet on the table for the 27-year-old’s services, which are widely reported to be attracting the interest of Manchester City.

Bertrand is another of the club’s top stars who Saints are keen to keep hold of this summer.

But Pep Guardiola’s men are said to be keen on the England left-back, if they can’t secure the services of their first choice, Benjamin Mendy, the Monaco defender.

However, Saints will be eager to resist and will have been buoyed after a big victory in the their battle to keep Van Dijk.

As has been well-documented, Saints reported Liverpool to the Premier League over what they saw as an illegal approach for the talismanic defender.

Then, in a surprise turn, the Anfield outfit issued a full apology and stated that they’d dropped any interest in the Dutchman.

It has certainly made a huge statement over the Saints’ stance on transfers this summer, after years of losing their key men to the league’s big spenders.

Much like Van Dijk, who signed a six year contract last summer, Bertrand is another Saints man to be tied to the club long-term, having put pen to paper on a deal until 2021 last July.

And as such Saints will feel they are in a strong bargaining position over their stars’ futures.

Although nobody has left just yet, former Saints man Jimmy Case fears that perhaps money might once again play a role in more departures this summer, with the leading sides able to offer colossal wages.

“These days unfortunately it comes down to money,” he said.

"It’s money and you can’t blame a player and if he’s on, for argument’s sake £50,000 a week and then he goes elsewhere and he’s on £80,000 or £100,000 a week, you really can’t blame that player for going.

"At the end of it, it’s a short-lived career and you’ve got to look after your family and your livelihood.

"But there’s very little loyalty these days and we know that, but that’s one of the main things.

"Southampton seem to get to a certain level. They produce good players, they get them in and they work well and they become better players.

“There’s something there but it’s another thing keeping hold of them.”

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COMMENT: How has Van Dijk reacted to all this?

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IT is either a ridiculously dull picture typical of a footballer’s social media account or one that has a message buried within it that makes it a fascinating image to look at.

It could be said that Virgil van Dijk’s recent social media post, pictured, is pretty uninteresting or it could be viewed, in the circumstances, as a highly provocative one.

Just 18 hours after Liverpool released a statement apologising for their activity surrounding Van Dijk and subsequently dropping all their interest in the player, who they were willing allegedly to shell out a record fee for, the Dutchman posted an image across his platforms.

It’s an image of him on a plane with his head turned so he’s looking out the window. He’s reclined in his leather seat on what is presumably a private jet or certainly a first class seat.

There are no words to accompany this image, just a footballer’s favourite social media communication tool, an emoji.

It’s an emoji of a thought bubble, telling us, presumably, that he’s thinking about stuff. Cool.

Now shoot me down because this could well be a wild conspiracy theory, but considering this comes just hours after a wild storm with his name at the very eye of it, this could well be a post designed for impact.

The plane indicates he’s travelling. Where are you going, Virgil?

The thought bubble suggests he’s thinking. What are you thinking, Virgil?

But he’s reclined and relaxed in this image. Are you relaxed about all of this, Virgil?

The plane is grounded, so is there another cryptic message buried within – does he realise he’s not going anywhere, for now? Maybe he’s pleased not to be going anywhere.

Is this a statement from the player not in words, but with body language? A carefully choreographed scene set up to get people talking?

Perhaps not, and such subtleties aren’t usually a trademark of football, so this might well be a load of tosh here, but it is certainly thought provoking for anyone willing to make it so.

And, mainly, it begs the question, how has Van Dijk reacted to recent events and constant headlines about him?

Perhaps this image is screaming ‘I’m relaxed, nothing is fazing me’.

But Van Dijk has been at the centre of this media storm and he will obviously be invested in everything that is going on.

And if the press reports were to be believed, then he’s just missed out on a move he wanted to work with a manager he highly respects at Liverpool.

Maybe this post is suggesting he’s pining for a move?

Saints will clearly be hoping that the events that have unfolded will show to Van Dijk that the club mean business, they are no longer willing to just to sell up their best players, as they have done in recent years.

The apology from Liverpool is nothing short of spectacular, something rarely seen in football and likely just the message Saints want to be able to scream to the circling vultures who turn up every summer above St Mary’s.

It suggests that Saints will not be taken advantage of anymore.

Perhaps the image Van Dijk posted is in part acceptance that Saints are very much in control of this situation.

After all, the 25-year-old signed a new six-year contract a year ago, so Saints are very much in the cockpit on this front.

They’ve also signed all of their valuable playing assets on long-term deals, so the leverage seems to be very much in their court, unlike previous seasons.

The summer is long and the transfer window has just opened, but Saints have taken early ground in this yearly battle to keep their players.

No offers have been made for any of their players just yet, but Saints’ stance is already very different.

Bids may come in for Van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand, who is on Manchester City’s radar, but for these big clubs, they now know that Saints aren’t going to be easily defeated.

Colossal bids may roll in at some point as this summer hots up and Saints might consider accepting them.

But the club’s early stance, which saw them report Liverpool to the Premier League, has yielded a success, with the Anfield club forced, as the Telegraph stated, in to “a humiliating climbdown”.

It could well be an indication of Saints’ new resilience in the transfer market.

Dealing with Saints may longer be the pleasant and fruitful experience the big clubs have perhaps previously experienced.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 08:03:15

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| Pundit claims Liverpool could still make top signing this summer | FootballSPORTREVIEWCOM |

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

#SaintsFC’s @OficialCedric is set for #WCQ action with Portugal tonight: http://sfcne.ws/CedricPorLat

Retweets: 1

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 09:03:30

| | ‘We want you, you want us. Do the ting.’ - Liverpool fans explode as star post cryptic messageFOOTBALLFANCAST |
| | Southampton chiefs ‘close’ to sealing game-changing dealFOOTBALLFANCAST |
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| Pundit hopeful Jurgen Klopp could still complete this Liverpool summer signing | FootballSPORTREVIEWCOM |

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 09/06/2017 10:03:43

| | No Van Dijk: What Next?ANFIELDINDEX |
| | PL rivals demand whopping £70m for Chelsea, Man City target after transfer fiascoCAUGHTOFFSIDE |
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| Thomas Tuchel targeted Southampton’s Claude Puel replacementSTMARYSMUSINGS |
| | Liverpool could still sign Van Dijk but should they?ROUSINGTHEKOP |
| | Liverpool news and transfer updates - LIVEGOLIVERPOOL |

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

:top: :five:|

We take a look back on the some of the best assists in #SaintsFC’s 2016/17 season:

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