Virgil van Dijk's answer left me stunned when I asked him why he didn't sign for Man Utd

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Virgil van Dijk was wanted by Manchester United before he eventually signed for Liverpool in January 2018Former Southampton striker Charlie Austin once revealed just how close Virgil van Dijk came to joining Manchester United. Austin disclosed how a transfer that might have dramatically altered the trajectory of two of England's biggest clubs played out - or rather how it didn't.READ MORE: Peter Crouch makes Liverpool vs Man United prediction as Arne Slot bids to avoid 'travesty'READ MORE: Alan Shearer delivers remarkable Liverpool snub as only ONE Man United player makes combined team"I remember in the back end of his Southampton career we were on the bench together at Chelsea away," he told talkSPORT in 2021.

There was talk of him going there, and then they have taken Lindelof instead."It goes without saying that Liverpool secured the better player when they eventually signed Van Dijk in January 2018. It wasn't long before he arrived at Anfield, where he would proceed to claim two Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and more."The manager was there, [Mauricio] Pellegrino at the time, and in the summer he (Van Dijk) was looking to go," Austin continued.

"I remember he (Pellegrino) got everyone around at training, including Virg, and just came out and said, 'Look lads, Virgil wants to go, we're not allowing it and he's said he's not going to play, so he's not going to train with us.'"That was in front of everybody. He apologised to the lads but we were like, 'We understand, you were linked with Liverpool and you wanted to go.'"Van Dijk's motivation to join Jurgen Klopp's project at Anfield was evident, even as United celebrated a Europa League and EFL Cup double under Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2017.