Southampton say skipper Fonte has asked for transfer

Britain Soccer Football - Southampton v Hapoel Be'er Sheva - UEFA Europa League Group Stage - Group K - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England - 8/12/16 Southampton's Jose Fonte during the warm up before the match Action Images via Reuters / Paul Childs Livepic

(Reuters) - Southampton captain Jose Fonte has asked for a transfer after repeatedly rejecting improved contract terms, the Premier League side's director of football Les Reed said.

"He's made it very clear he would like to explore the opportunities for a transfer. That's where we are at the moment, Jose wants to leave the club. He's formally asked for a transfer," Reed told the BBC.

"He's had several opportunities to improve the contract situation. He's reserved his right not to do that," Reed said, adding that Southampton had not received a formal bid for the player.

Fonte, however, said last month that he had not been offered a new contract.

"Just to set the record straight I did not reject a new contract. In fact, I have been informed by Southampton that they are not offering me a new contract," the defender said then in a post on his Instagram account.

Fonte, 33, joined from Crystal Palace in 2010 and has made 288 appearances for Southampton. He was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United during the close season after helping Portugal to win the European Championship.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Clare Fallon)