Southampton have ill feelings towards Liverpool, Chelsea and City
It’s no secret that Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool made an illegal approach for Southampton centre back Virgil van Dijk earlier this summer. What is a recent revelation, is the fact that the Reds were also joined by Chelsea and Manchester City in their poor judgment.
The Irish Independent has the story that all three Premier League clubs met with van Dijk’s representatives before he informed Southampton of his desire to leave. That fact is a big reason why Southampton are so determined to keep hold of their star defender.
It’s easy to understand the Saints’ position on the matter. Time after time they’ve been forced to watch their stars walk out the door in recent years. The majority of those stars have matriculated to Anfield, but other Premier League clubs have gotten in on the act as well. Tottenham, for example, swooped in and stole Victor Wanyama last summer.
Watching that sort of talent leave on a regular basis has to get old. It was really only a matter of time before Southampton decided to take a stand. Van Dijk’s decision to go behind their back and meet with Premier League rivals behind their back has given them the perfect reason to choose this transfer battle to dig in their heels.
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There are two questions that leap immediately to mind upon hearing this news. First, will Manchester City and Chelsea feel comfortable staying in the race to sign van Dijk? I would suspect both to keep bidding for his services, but Southampton could press them for an apology just as they did with Liverpool. That’s an unlikely outcome, but it certainly isn’t impossible.
The second question is just how far Southampton are willing to push this issue. In many ways, I’d love to see the Saints play it out to the very end. If they left van Dijk to rot on the bench until he came to heel it would strike an amazing blow for all Premier League clubs. Finally, some power might start to swing back towards the clubs and away from players.
On the other hand, that could hurt Southampton’s ascendancy as a club. They have a chance to crack the top half of the Premier League this year, but without van Dijk (or replacements purchased from the proceeds of his sale) that’s going to be quite a challenge. Southampton would feel proud of their morals, but might pay for them in terms of league positioning.
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You can be sure that Premier League owners all over England will be silently hoping for Southampton to continue to draw a hard line with van Dijk. Time will tell just how much nerve the Saints will have when it comes to their most valuable player.