Ronald Koeman will not contemplate selling Southampton captain Jose Fonte and refused to be drawn on whether Virgil van Dijk is a target for the Premier League club.
Aston Villa are reportedly eager to sign centre-back Fonte before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.
However, Southampton manager Koeman on Thursday stressed that he has no interest in selling the 31-year-old Portugal international.
"I don't know if [Fonte] is a target for another club. He is our captain, he's a very strong defender, he's a club man like Kelvin Davis and not for one second do I think in my mind to sell that player," said the Dutchman.
"He's part of the team, he's the captain. [There's] no way to sell the player."
Koeman is eager to bring in another centre-back rather than lose such a key man, but was coy on a link to Celtic's Van Dijk.
He added: "We would like to bring in another defender and if we bring in another defender then I am very happy for this season."
When asked if a bid has been made for Van Dijk, he said: "I don't know.
"It is not the moment to talk about that because I like to talk about a player who we will bring in when the contract is signed."
