Southampton: Saints feeling the curse of the Van Dijk sale

With little-to-no transfer movement a week into the January window, Southampton are certainly feeling the effects of their big sale in December.

Most Saints fans were aware that Virgil van Dijk’s days on the south coast were numbered after he was omitted from consecutive matchday squads, but his sale just after Christmas still caught a lot of supporters off guard.

Southampton sold their prized asset for a whopping £75 million before the January window even started – despite the club knowing full well that the side needed heavy reinforcements when the new year rolled around.

However the Saints have now dug themselves a hole, and are feeling the curse of selling VVD for a world-record fee for a defender.

Previously, Mauricio Pellegrino’s side have been linked with a move for Theo Walcott with a similar fee to what Arsenal bought him for being the general consensus. Sources varied, but £15 million seemed to be the rough figure.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton looks on prior to the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) /

However, the Saints may now have to stump up as much as two times that, in addition to taking on the Englishman’s high wages.

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The deal initially seemed like good value despite Walcott’s six-figure pay-packet with the Saints signing a proven Premier League goalscorer for a relatively low fee. However, with other clubs now knowing the Saints have heavily-lined pockets, there’s a premium on every price tag.

No one outside the club truly knows what potential transfers are being worked on within, but we’re already a quarter of the way through the month with little development on our side.

With the Saints struggling to find any steady form over the first 20 games of the season, you’d imagine that the club would be trying their best to complete deals as early as possible – leaving it until late in the window was the mistake over the summer.

It’s still early days but not getting deals close to the dotted line earlier means the Saints will now have to pay much more than they perhaps would’ve for players this window. Whilst some fault stems from within, it seems like Virgil van Dijk’s departure will leave a bigger mark than some may of originally thought.