Virgil Van Dijk has been on a podcast and has predicted Liverpool to challenge for the Champions League, Saints fans would prefer him to say something about his own club.
Virgil Van Dijk has appeared on a podcast created by Squawka to launch the new EA Sports Fifa 18 game, whilst it has to be noted that Van Dijk is being paid handsomely to attend the launch and was wearing EA branded clothing, his comments were perhaps a little ill advised and sensitive after the issues of the past three months or so.
When asked who would go farthest in the Champions League this season he replied.
"I think Liverpool and Man City maybe.”
On their chances of winning the competition outright he said:
"You never know. It’s always going to be difficult and it’s a different style of play, European nights are always different."
"Anything can happen, especially if you are the big English clubs who are in the Champions League at the moment.”
Liverpool fan websites as well as the Liverpool Echo have already picked up on these comments and are seeing it as some sort of sublimal message from Van Dijk to Liverpool FC and their fans.
Certainly there aren't many other pundits predicting success for the Merseyside club in the Champions League this season, ironically not just because of their failure to sign Virgil Van Dijk but the fact that they did not address their defensive frailties full stop, Jurgen Klopp had no plan B other than to chase Van Dijk to the final minute of the final hour of the transfer window whatever the consequences.
That has mean't Liverpool's form has been erratic in both the Premier & Champions Leagues this season.
In the Premier only three clubs have conceded more than the 11 goals Liverpool have leaked and they are all in the bottom 4, indeed Bournemouth are the only club in that group who have not conceded more, but they have like the Anfield club let in 11.
In the Champions League although this was filmed before last night's results, Liverpool had made a poor start drawing at home with Sevilla and it has to be said that it is very strange that Van Dijk should state that he thinks Liverpool would go farther than Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, all of whom had won their opening games comprehensively.
But it is not so much his opinion that is under scrutiny here, but the fact that although he is willing to say something publicly about Liverpool FC, he has of yet said nothing about the club that he is actually contracted to and who are paying him well, not to mention their supporters, ie Southampton.
Whilst it is understandable that Van Dijk will be feeling a little miffed about the fact that Saints have dug their heels in, the truth is that the situation is down to his own actions, Saints have done nothing wrong, whereas he and his agent, not to mention Liverpool appear to have done nothing right.
Whilst he is upset at the situation, he should now be showing that he is a man and not a spoilt child , by standing up and telling Southampton fans he is committed to the club and will give 100% whilst still here.
An apology of sorts would be the decent thing to do, but we have to accept that won't happen, however a statement from him to the supporters rather than letting his team mates tell the press that he is committed etc would be the actions of a decent man and not one that now appears to be a totally arrogant, petulant and insensitive brat.
Indeed if he thinks that making public comments about Liverpool and completely blanking Saints is going to get him a move to Anfield, then he clearly needs a few lessons in life, it will only make Saints more determined in what they do next, whispers in the press this week have suggested that Saints will never sell Van Dijk to Liverpool and the fact these have appeared suggest that the club itself is unhappy with the players attitude.
Of course they never expected it to return to the levels it once was, but they had a right to expect his behaviour to be professional and whilst so far on the playing side he seems to have knuckled down and done his job, off the pitch little seems to have changed in his attitude and perhaps the feeling is that if he can say nothing good about Saints, then he should say nothing about anyone else especially Liverpool.
But he is contracted to promote EA Sports product and that means getting headlines, he has an agent that seemingly likes to make headlines through controversy and certainly from this perspective, what was a routine press conference about a computer game that is released every year, suddenly everyone is talking about it, I wonder how much his agent used this in his negotiations to agree a higher fee ?
From my own perspective, I have great respect of Virgil Van Dijk as a player, but zero respect for him as a man, I had hoped that he might get some of that respect back, but I have seen nothing from him that suggests that he is a big enough personality to be able to act like a man.
I want him to play for Saints and do his job whils't he is here, we are paying him well, we have every right to expect that, the situation is what it is, Saints have to use it to the best of their ability and that means not only showing the rest of football we mean business and will not be pushed around, but doing what is right for the team.