Virgil van Dijk's private chat with team-mate on why he didn't join Man United leaked

Manchester United’s transfer activity has arguably seen more misses than hits over the last decade.

Numerous players have arrived for exorbitant fees, only for many to underperform. With Sir Jim Ratcliffe now in charge of football operations, it is hoped the number of missteps will be reduced going forward.

Lessons must be learned from past mistakes, even with the benefit of hindsight. One of the biggest transfer errors involves a player who would go on to become a fixture in Liverpool's defence.

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In the 2017 summer transfer window, Virgil van Dijk, then with Southampton, found himself in high demand and United was one of his potential destinations. However, with a choice of Van Dijk or Benfica's Victor Lindelof, then-boss Jose Mourinho plumped for the latter.

The following January, Liverpool capitalised by purchasing Van Dijk for £75million, while United later spent £80million on Harry Maguire from Leicester. This turn of events was shared by Charlie Austin, Van Dijk's former team-mate at Southampton, in 2021.

He told talkSPORT: "I remember the back end of his Southampton career, we were on the bench together at Chelsea away. I sat there and I said, 'Come on Virgil, what's going on, surely Man United must've been in for you? Massive club in England, etc'.

"He said, 'You know what Chaz, in the summer it was like between me or Lindelof and they signed Lindelof'. I was like, 'You are joking!'

"Nobody knows that, he told me that on the bench. I couldn't believe it, I was just as gobsmacked as you. Obviously, there was talk in the summer he was going to go there then they've gone and taken Lindelof instead."

Van Dijk went on to win the Champions League and Premier League under Jurgen Klopp and remains a fixture in the team. Meanwhile, Lindelof hasn't always been a first-team regular at United and could be heading for pastures new this summer.

Mourinho, recently installed at Fenerbahce, is believed to be interested in signing the Swede, who has one year remaining on his United contract. Maguire could also potentially be leaving this summer, as United are keen to avoid losing him for free next summer when his contract ends.