Virgil van Dijk ’embarrassed himself, Southampton fans and the club’ in his summer-long transfer saga over a prospective move to Liverpool, says Alan Pardew.
The Holland international handed in a transfer request and trained alone throughout pre-season amid interest from Liverpool, who were forced to publicly end their pursuit of the him amid claims of tapping up.
Van Dijk was named as a substitute for the match against Crystal Palace on Saturday, the first time he has been involved with the first team since the transfer window closed.
Alan Pardew said Virgil van Dijk embarrassed himself in his Southampton transfer row
Van Dijk was named as a Southampton substitute for their match against Crystal Palace
‘Is it going to affect his performance today? I expect in three or four games time he will be fine. But this first game, I expect him to be nervous,’ former Crystal Palace and Southampton boss Pardew said on Sky Sports.
‘The player, he has embarrassed his fans and he has embarrassed himself a little bit and the club. I’ll be looking at him today and worrying. He is someone I’d be concerned about.’
Van Dijk’s Southampton team-mate Ryan Bertrand insisted there is no issue surrounding the Dutchman’s return to the senior fold.
‘No bad vibes in the dressing room,’ Bertrand said. ‘Everyone is entitled to their opinions, options, what they want to do in life.
‘He wanted to go and pursue his career, move on to really big things. But he also had a contract with Southampton and they didn’t want to sell him. That’s football, that’s life, move on.’
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino said Van Dijk could have started at Selhurst Park against Palace but he opted for Maya Yoshida and Wesly Hoedt due to their greater match sharpness.
‘ Van Dijk is training well, this is the good news. Obviously we know about the pre-season but Virgil is coming from eight months without playing a game (due to an ankle injury).
‘He is well, training at a good dynamic with the team. I think he is ready to play, physically he is good but he needs more time to be at the same level as his team-mates.’