Best of Premier League’s starting XI this season
By Liam Price
Virgil van Dijk (Southampton)
What a blow van Dijk’s injury was to Southampton FC. Not that this team was particularly going to be fighting for a top-four finish this season but the tall, Dutch defender really was commanding attention before he suffered a potential season-ending ankle injury.
Arriving in September 2015, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract for a reported £13 million transfer fee from Celtic FC. In his 18 appearances this Premier League season, van Dijk put home one goal against his opponents. Meanwhile, in the club’s Europa League campaign, he managed to double that tally in only six appearances.
The ankle injury van Dijk suffered meant a huge blow in the Southampton campaign, although the squad has been quite resilient and now find themselves in 11th. Before the injury, however, van Dijk managed 53 interceptions, 11 blocked shots and 133 clearances– which put him close to top of the league in these stats.
“Come back better and stronger” is a term that is thrown around when players suffer significant injuries in their career. Without knowing how bad this ankle injury truthfully is, Southampton and van Dijk alike will both be hoping for a strong recovery. If Southampton can continue their push into the top-half of the Premier League and secure another Europa League birth, van Dijk may stay with the south-England team. He is currently under scrutiny from a number of top clubs (and one midtable club) including Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United.