Virgil van Dijk's ex-teammate reveals how close Liverpool captain came to joining Man Utd

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Mary's when rumours surfaced about United's interest during the summer of 2017. 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 opted for Van Dijk's signature in January 2018.

Austin offered additional insight into Van Dijk's attempts to secure a transfer at the time, even downing tools at Southampton in his quest to depart. Victor Lindelof signs for Manchester United (Image: @ManUtd /Twitter) "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.'". He apologized to the lads but we were like, 'We understand, you were linked with Liverpool and you wanted to go.'" Van Dijk's passion for joining 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.