Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk knows Manchester United turned him down and which player to choose instead. That’s the claim of former Southampton team-mate Charlie Austin.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk knows Manchester United decided to sign Victor Lindelof in his place during his time atSouthampton in 2017. That’s the claim ofex-Saints forward Charlie Austin, with van Dijk joining Liverpool for a club-record fee of around £75m and becoming one of the best players in the world. The club’s most influential player during his time at Anfield. by receiving many prestigious awards And in the meantime has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world.
But things could end up being hugely different for Van Dijk if United had decided to reaffirm his interest in his services before he finally made the move to Merseyside. By Austin, who played alongside Van Dijk at Southampton Revealed that the Red Devils face a choice between the Dutchman and Lindelof. which in the end chose the latter
“I remember at the end of my career with Southampton We sat on the bench together at Chelsea away, ” Austin told talkSPORT . What happened? Of course Manchester United want to sign you?’ They are a huge club in England. And he said: ‘You know what, Shaz in the summer Manchester United had to choose between me and Lindelof. And they chose Lindelof.'” “Nobody knew about it. He told me on the bench and I couldn’t believe it. It was really surprising.”
It turns out that Man’s decision United’s refusal to buy Van Dijk is a tragedy that has finally turned out to be a good thing given the current two teams’ situations that have somewhat contradicted the Red Devils and Reds in recent years. The best Merseyside teams have been successful in both the Premier League and the Premier League. League and on the European stage, van Dijk has played a key role
in Liverpool’s return to the forefront of English football since his arrival in 2018.
Meanwhile, United have struggled in their struggle to reach the top again following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and they now find themselves 21 points behind Liverpool. And there are five positions apart on the Premier League table. Austin also revealed that Mauricio Pellegrino, manager of Southampton at the time, was not satisfied with Van. Dijk about the desire to move on to bigger and better things. And that made the last few months of his life at the UFABET club not easy.
“The manager at the time was Pellegrino and in the summer he [Van Dijk] was aiming to leave,” explains Austin , who is currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers. Got it when he brought everyone onto the field. including Vergil He came out and said, ‘Look, boy, Virgil wants to go. The club did not allow him to go. He said he wouldn’t play so he wouldn’t come train with us.'” “In front of everyone, including Virgil. The play took him by surprise. No prior warning from the manager Nothing.”