Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace vs Southampton - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 16, 2017 Southampton's Virgil van Dijk REUTERS/David Klein
LONDON (Reuters) - Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk played his first few minutes of the season in their 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday with manager Mauricio Pellegrino hoping for three months without transfer issues involving the Dutch defender.
Van Dijk was sidelined from the Saints first-team squad while they fended off approaches from Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea during the still-open transfer window in the first month of the Premier League season.
