Van Dijk ‘bust-up’ is reason FSG ‘pulled the plug’ on Man Utd hijack amid ‘hostility’

Virgil van Dijk has reportedly influenced Liverpool’s decision to “end their pursuit of 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 failed to secure a new centre-back.

Instead of, Arne’s SlotThe club have signed Italy international Federico Chiesa in a cut-price deal from Juventus, while they have agreed to buy Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia. The goalkeeper will join the Premier League giants next year.

Liverpool were mooted as a possible alternative destination for De Ligt, but he ended up leaving Bayern Munich for Manchester United in an initial £38.5m deal.

De Ligt struggled during the international break and the “broken” defender has been warned that he could be a target in Man Utd’s upcoming matches.

READ: Five upcoming Premier League debuts we’re excited to see after an annoying international break

The Man Utd rookie 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 a moment, but at the highest level you will be punished for this.”

Despite this, a report from the Football Insider claims Liverpool ‘pulled the plug’ on De Ligt’s signing after he had a ‘fallout’ with Van Dijk. The report explains.

‘Liverpool pulled out of the summer signing of Matthijs De Ligt because he has a strained relationship with Virgil van Dijk, sources have told Football Insider.

‘Arne Slot’s side held preliminary talks over a deal with the 25-year-old before he joined Manchester United but did not pursue the deal after discovering 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 leave De Ligt on the bench, preferring Stefan De Vrij as his defensive partner.’

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De Ligt has joined Casemiro at Man Utd, but the Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move elsewhere in recent days amid his poor start to the season.

Another report from Football Insider claims he recently “rejected a loan move to Galatasaray”.

‘Manchester United midfielder Casemiro rejected a loan move to Galatasaray on Thursday night, sources have told Football Insider.

‘The 32-year-old initially agreed to join the Turkish giants after they agreed terms on a loan deal with United.

“But Casemiro changed his mind at the last minute and is now expected to remain at Old Trafford beyond the close of the Turkish window, which closes later on Friday.”