Could Netherlands’ woes help Liverpool sign Southampton’s Van Dijk?

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Netherlands, and therefore Virgil van Dijk, are unlikely to be at the World Cup so can that help Liverpool finally sign the Southampton defender?

France’s midfielder Thomas Lemar (C) shoots on goal and scores during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying football match vs Netherlands.

Unless they beat Sweden by six clear goals in their final World Cup qualification match this evening (October 10) Netherlands will not be at the tournament in Russia next summer.

A dismal qualifying campaign has left the Dutch on the verge of not reaching their second successive major tournament after also missing out on Euro 2016 – just two years after finishing third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

It is a sorry state of affairs for a country considered one of the strongest footballing nations in Europe and it will mean many of the best players from across the continent will not be featuring in the sport’s biggest event.

Belarus’ forward Nikolai Signevich and The Netherlands’ Virgil Van Dijk vie for the ball.

One of those is Virgil van Dijk, who returned into the fold after injury and played the full 90 minutes when Dick Advocaat’s side beat Belarus 3-1 in their last outing.

Van Dijk has been strongly linked with Liverpool, as reported by the Guardian, and handed in a transfer request to try and force the move to Anfield – something he has since said he had “no regrets” in doing before admitting he’s still open to a move in the January transfer window.

And the Saints may well have lost one of their trump cards with the Netherlands not going to the World Cup as the centre-back no longer has the goal of making the 23-man squad as a reason for putting in good performances for the Hampshire outfit.

Virgil van Dijk of Southampton applauds supporters after his side’s 1-2 defeat in the Premier League to Stoke City.

It is a situation the Reds are all too aware of themselves having fended off strong interest in one of their own players over the summer as Barcelona failed on three occasions to sign Philippe Coutinho – as outlined by the BBC. Despite not getting his dream move, Coutinho will want to be playing for Brazil in Russia and only good performances for the Merseysiders will help achieve that.

Van Dijk no longer has that carrot dangling in front of him and with the 26-year-old having previously been prepared to ostracise himself from his teammates to force a transfer, that could be a major problem for Southampton.