Nathan Redmond has claimed that the vast amount of money in the Premier League means that smaller clubs are now able to hang on to their best players.

In 2015, Sky and BT Sport paid a record £5.136bn for live Premier League TV rights for three seasons, beginning with the 2016-17 campaign.

Redmond's Southampton teammate Virgil van Dijk was being sought by Liverpool in the summer but, despite the Dutchman handing in a transfer request, the Saints board kept hold of the defender.

"It's how the Premier League is these days," Redmond told the Daily Star. "Players had the power a couple of seasons ago. But now there's more money from Sky and there's more money for Premier League clubs every season.

"The more money you get, the stronger you are financially and then you're able to keep hold of your best players. I think you saw that with Virgil and the likes of Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool as well. There's a lot players like that and it's happening everywhere."

Van Dijk has not started a Saints game since January, although he was a late substitute at Crystal Palace last week and made a goalscoring appearance for the Under-23s in a 3-0 win against Stoke City on Monday.