Ronald Koeman insists Shane Long will stay with Southampton

Republic of Ireland international striker Shane Long is staying at Southampton after manager Ronald Koeman insisted he will not be sold to Liverpool.

Koeman, who has strengthened his striking options by signing Charlie Austin in a £4m (€5.2m) deal from Queens Park Rangers, is adamant that Long is staying put.

He said: “I will just keep giving the same answer. We have brought one player in and nobody will be going out of the club. That will be the case all the way up until January 31 (when the transfer window closes).

“You know my answer. Nobody will go out. But maybe I will need to say it another 80 times.”

Koeman expects Long to relish the extra competition from the arrival of Austin and he added: “What we like to do is make a strong squad and for that you need competition.”