Man Utd rejected chance to sign Virgil van Dijk to sign Victor Lindelof instead, reveals ex-Saints star Charlie Austin
MANCHESTER UNITED reportedly snubbed the chance to sign Virgil van Dijk to get Victor Lindelof instead.
That is according to Charlie Austin, who played with the now Liverpool legend at Southampton.
A host of European and Premier League sides were keen to sign Dutch international defender Van Dijk back in 2017.
Then United manager Jose Mourinho was desperate for a centre-half and had been tracking the ex-Celtic ace for months.
However, the Special One instead opted to splash out on Lindelof from Benfica rather than Van Dijk – who has since become arguably the best defender in Premier League history.
Austin, who is now at QPR, told talkSPORT Drive: “I remember at the back end of his Southampton career, we were sitting on the bench together at Chelsea away.
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“I said to him ‘come on Virgil what’s going on, surely Manchester United must have been in for you?’”
“They’re a massive club in England.
“He said ‘do you know what Chaz, in the summer it was between me and Lindelof, and they went for Lindelof’.
“Nobody knows that. He told me on the bench and I couldn’t believe it.
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“I was gobsmacked.”
Van Dijk headed to Anfield in January 2018 for a then world record fee and has gone on to win both the Champions League and Premier League with the Reds.
Lindelof is still at United but has struggled for regular action and with injuries, and the 27-year-old Swede is still yet to lift a trophy with the Red Devils.