Liverpool: Van Dijk ‘bust-up’ the reason why FSG ‘pulled plug’ on Man Utd hijack amid ‘hostility’ reveal
According to reports, Virgil van Dijk impacted Liverpool’s decision to ‘pull the plug on their pursuit to sign Manchester United star Matthijs de Ligt.
Ahead of this summer’s transfer window, Liverpool were expected to be in the market for a new centre-back. They were linked with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie, but they did not land a new defender.
Instead, Arne Slot‘s side signed Italy international Federico Chiesa in a cut-price deal from Juventus, while they agreed to buy Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia. The goalkeeper will join the Premier League giants next year.
Liverpool was mooted as a possible alternative destination for De Ligt, but he ended up leaving Bayern Munich for Manchester United in a deal worth an initial £38.5m.
De Ligt struggled during the international break and the “broken” centre-back has been warned that he could be targeted in Man Utd’s upcoming fixtures.
READ: Five imminent Premier League debuts we are itching to see after an irritating international break
The Man Utd newbie was heavily criticised during the international break and Van Dijk encouraged him to learn from his mistakes. He said: “This is football. You have to learn from this. It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it.”
Despite this, a report from Football Insider claims Liverpool ‘pulled the plug’ on signing De Ligt after he had a ‘bust-up’ with Van Dijk. The report explains.
‘Liverpool pulled the plug on their Matthijs De Ligt pursuit in the summer because he has a strained relationship with Virgil van Dijk, sources have told Football Insider.
‘Arne Slot’s side held preliminary conversations over a deal for the 25-year-old before he joined Man United but didn’t progress their pursuit after discovering the hostility between the pair.
‘Sources have told Football Insider that the animosity stems from this summer’s Euros, with Van Dijk influencing the decision to bench De Ligt, preferring Stefan De Vrij as his defensive partner instead.’
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De Ligt has joined Casemiro at Man Utd, but the Brazil international has been heavily linked with a move elsewhere in recent days amid his miserable start to the new campaign.
Another report from Football Insider claims he recently ‘rejected a loan move to Galatasaray’.
‘Man United midfielder Casemiro rejected a loan move to Galatasaray late on Thursday, sources have told Football Insider.
‘The 32-year-old had initially agreed to join the Turkish giants after they had agreed the terms of a loan deal with United.
‘But Casemiro then changed his mind at the eleventh hour and is now set to stay at Old Trafford beyond the closure of the Turkish window, which shuts later on Friday.’
