Virgil van Dijk: Southampton to have meeting designed to get rid in January - Collymore

Van Dijk, 26, handed in a transfer request this summer in the hope of forcing through a move away from Southampton. 

Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City were all said to be interested in signing the Dutch international to bolster their ranks. 

The Reds were the frontrunners for his signature at one stage in the transfer window, but were accused of trying to ‘tap up’ the former Celtic man. 

This led to Jurgen Klopp’s side issuing a public apology and ending their interest in Van Dijk. 

But the centre-back continued to agitate for a summer move - with Liverpool reigniting their interest in him - and was even forced to train with the Under-23s due to his conduct. 

However, former Reds striker turned pundit Collymore reckons Southampton will look to hold crunch talks with their prized asset in the summer with the intention of offloading him in January. 

“Of the three [Van Dijk, Sanchez, Coutinho], I’d expect Van Dijk to have the toughest reception,” Collymore wrote in his Daily Mirror column.

“He looked as if he’d gone a bit ‘Big Time Charlie’ when he started posting moody pictures on private jets and I wouldn’t expect old-school pros like Steven Davis to accept that.

“The poison has perhaps been injected so deep into Van Dijk’s relationship with the Saints that, unlike Coutinho, I can’t see a way back in the long term.

“So don’t be surprised to hear of a meeting in the next few weeks designed to get him out of St Mary’s in January.

“Sometimes in football, that’s the only way to sort it once and for all.”

Van Dijk is contracted to Southampton until the summer of 2022.