£60m Liverpool, Chelsea target endures nightmare comeback in rout, January move still touted

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Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk had a return to action to forget for the U23s side in a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Monday night.

The Dutchman is well off the pace in terms of fitness after being held back by injury in recent months, while a widely speculated exit from the club failed to materialise.

As per The Telegraph, Van Dijk is valued at around £60m by the Saints, and was the subject of significant interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal this past summer.

However, had they been keeping tabs on him this week, they would have been far from impressed with what they saw as he looked off the pace as Southampton were picked apart by a rampant Villa.

It’s understandable given that he hasn’t played for months while he has had to reintegrate back into the club after requesting a transfer, and so he will undoubtedly improve with playing time. In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not the 26-year-old is still eyeing a move elsewhere, or if he is now fully focused on playing his part for Southampton this season.

As reported by The Daily Star though, Ian McGarry has told the Transfer Window Podcast that Liverpool will go back for the Dutch international in the January transfer window, provided that they can make it out of the group stage of the Champions League.

There’s no denying that Jurgen Klopp needs to strengthen his defence having now conceded eight goals in their two away games so far this season. McGarry added that given Van Dijk won’t be cup tied in Europe, the chances of him moving on in January are pretty high in his opinion.

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