Jamie Montigue

Southampton have appointed Mauricio Pellegrino as manager on a three-year-deal. The 45-year-old Argentinian will take charge of the Saints following the departure of Claude Puel. Les Reed: "I am delighted that after a diligent selection process we have recruited Mauricio Pellegrino as our new First Team Manager. “We had an impressive list of candidates and went through a comprehensive interview process. Mauricio impressed us throughout with his depth of knowledge, motivation and ability, communicating this in a professional and passionate way. “He has an excellent understanding of the Southampton Way, and his style of play and aspiration matches the philosophy, culture and ambition of the club. “We firmly believe Mauricio is the right person to help us take the next steps. He knows our players and believes we have a great squad that with some fine-tuning will be able to deliver continued success. “Mauricio believes with the quality we have we can play exciting,

Liverpool have apologised to Southampton and ended their interest in defender Virgil van Dijk. A statement has been released a day after the Saints had asked the Premier League to investigate whether the Holland international was subject of an illegal approach. Here is the statement in full from Liverpool FC: "Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs. "We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk. "We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player." Liverpool say sorry to Southampton and abandon pursuit of Virgil van Dijk Liverpool have abandoned their hopes of signing Virgil van Dijk and apologised to Southampton for "any misunderstanding" over their interest. Press Association Sport unde