'I asked Virgil van Dijk why Man Utd didn't sign him before Liverpool – his answer shocked me'

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Virgil van Dijk was the subject of interest from Manchester United before he eventually joined Liverpool, with the Red Devils opting for another transfer target insteadFormer Southampton striker Charlie Austin once lifted the lid on just how close Virgil van Dijk came to signing with Manchester United. "I sat there and was like, ‘Virg lad, what’s going on?"'Surely Manchester United must have been in for you?

Massive club in England, etc.' He went, ‘Do you know what Chaz, in the summer it was like between me and Lindelof, and they signed Lindelof.'READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk has final say on Liverpool's £228m summer transfer overhaulREAD MORE: Alan Shearer picks his Man Utd vs Liverpool combined XI - with only ONE United player"I was like, 'You are joking!' I couldn’t believe it, I was gobsmacked. There was talk of him going there, and then they have taken Lindelof instead."Needless to say Liverpool got the superior player when they eventually plumped for Van Dijk's signature in January 2018.

It wasn't long before he ended up at Anfield, where he would go on to lift two Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.Content cannot be displayed without consent"The manager was there, [Mauricio] Pellegrino at the time, and in the summer he (Van Dijk) was looking to go," Austin continued. He apologised to the lads but we were like, 'We understand, you were linked with Liverpool and you wanted to go.'"It's apparent just how passionate Van Dijk was about joining the project Jurgen Klopp was building at Anfield at the time.