As predicted last week Virgil Van Dijk has made his return in a Saints shirt in the U23 side to meet Aston Villa at Walsall, but it wasn't a happy return.

Virgil Van Dijk lined up in an inexperienced U23 side to face Aston Villa, although Alex McCarthy was in goal and ne signing Jan Bednarek partnering him in the centre of defence there was little other experience of not in the starting XI

But it was not to be a happy return for the Dutchman, Villa took the lead after only 13 minutes and although Saints had a chance or two the lead was doubled before the break as the MIdlands side dominated.

The game was effectivily over only minutes into the second half when Villa added a third and on 53 minutes it was four and it looked like being a long night for Van Dijk and his team mates.

However they dug in and there was no further scoring, Van Dijk himself played the entire match.

Ultimately though this was all about giving him game time and although reports suggest that he did not look at his best nor was he sharp, that is only to be expected given that he has not played in any sort of competitve game in nearly 8 months.

The object of playing him was to assess his fitness and after this game I would be surprised if the club considered him for selection against Crystal Palace if the reports I have seen ae anything to go by.

Photo: Action Images

skiptonsaint added 21:34 - Sep 11 No way will we risk him for Place surely. Not Man U because of reception , so Stoke then but surely needs to show he is sharper In next U23s game
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patred added 22:04 - Sep 11 it was said last week that the Palace game was earmarked if he could get 90 mins in u23s. We'll see!
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Jesus_02 added 01:37 - Sep 12 Oh Dear..maybe he would have better luck up front?
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A1079 added 08:01 - Sep 12 Our inability to score and dominate games seems to be a factor at all levels at the moment, which is more of a worry to me than the constant endless saga of VVD. It suggests to me that there are fundamental issues of coaching, quality and confidence.
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LoisDeem added 10:29 - Sep 12 Yes, we've been blinded by this obsessive central defender maelstrom which started with Fonte, and has affected our whole outlook, whilst this position still remains one of our strongest. He should not play until he's able to compete properly for a place, and this fan thinks that's a while off. Talk about eye off the ball. Get on with it. Go for goal, stop fannying around. Support the Saints.

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birminghamsaint added 11:16 - Sep 12 I went and watched this game except for the last 20 minutes, as the trains back from the Bescot are infrequent. I think the 4 : 0 scoreline flattered the Villa, in what was an end to end game and a refreshing change from some of the dross served up by the respective first elevens who would approach the game more tactically. I don’t think I would single out Van Dyke in particular for any criticism (he certainly won everything in the air and a couple of good blocks), but obviously, I watched the game live without the benefit of multiple TV replays of the goals. The goals to me seemed to come through the middle of the pitch on the counter attack with no defensive midfield cover in front of the two central defenders. I didn't notice any lack of desire or sharpness compared to the other players, so I would not judge Van Dyke on this game and it gave him the minutes he needed.

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dovif added 13:43 - Sep 12 He looks totally disinterested. It looked like he is gone already. The problem with keeping a player against his will is fully on display and it might be affecting the whole squad and destroying morale. When a girlfriend say they want to leave you. You do not cage her. You do not tell her you cannot leave. It always ends badly
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dovif added 13:43 - Sep 12 He looks totally disinterested. It looked like he is gone already. The problem with keeping a player against his will is fully on display and it might be affecting the whole squad and destroying morale. When a girlfriend say they want to leave you. You do not cage her. You do not tell her you cannot leave. It always ends badly
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highfield49 added 16:30 - Sep 12 Almost completely off subject but as Sammie Lee might be looking for a job this week could Les please sign him, to replace Black, that other overpaid, disinterested waste of space.
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redandwhitedee added 15:08 - Sep 13 Birminghamsaint.. if you do now watch the video replays of the goals, he does actually try to get out of the way of the striker each time. Looked to me like he was trying to make a point to the Mgt. He should not play for quite some time on that performance. We have 3 good enough CB's ahead of him. Its a shame but he is simply not good enough right now to get on the 1st team pitch.

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SaintBrock added 16:27 - Sep 13 People, people, get a grip you can read absolutely nothing into his appearance at Villa. His sole mandate was to get 90 mins under his belt without picking up a knock, sprain or injury. He has a long way to go to full match fitness and effectiveness. This was the start of his journey back to full recovery not the end. It'll be weeks before he makes the first team so be patient and stop trying to read everything into nothing.

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RogerToye added 18:54 - Sep 13 put vvd up front i bet he'd bag a few
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