Speaking to Jim White on Talksport, Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger has appeared pretty assured that Virgil van Dijk will be at the club next season – despite continued links concerning a move away from the club for the highly-rated defender.

What’s the word?

Dutchman Van Dijk has been in superb form this season and, despite being injured at the moment, is largely regarded as one of the finest centre-halves in the Premier League at the moment.

Indeed, The Sun have referred to the fact both Manchester City and Liverpool want him to bolster their respective defences in the summer and so Krueger’s comments will surely come as a blow to both.

What was said?

Speaking to Jim White, Krueger said: “Virgil is committed to us for a long time and we don’t see anything but that in our future.” He does seem pretty convinced that the Dutchman will not be going anywhere, then, though it remains to be seen if that holds firm if a bid is launched from one of his potential new employers.

Will it stick?

In the modern game it’s pretty hard to believe comments like this – no matter how convincing they may seem. For sure, Southampton are a good club that will be in the Premier League next season but there’s very little chance that Van Dijk will be playing in Europe next year if he stays with them.

Certainly, both Manchester City and Liverpool should be in Europe next year – whether that be in the Champions League or Europa League – and that carrot may be too much for the Dutchman to turn down when push comes to shove.

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As reported by STV, Rangers defender Rob Kiernan has failed in his appeal to rescind a red card received against St Johnstone last week, meaning he will now miss Sunday’s match against Celtic.

A panel that convened at Hampden on Thursday to hear his appeal upheld the original decision to send him off with a straight red for serious foul play.

Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty had previously said the decision from the referee was worth appealing.

As quoted by STV, he said:

Rob made the referee make a decision. We will have to put more meat on the bones for the appeal when we go to the board but I think it’s definitely worth an appeal.

Rob Kiernan hasn’t had the best debut season in the Scottish Premiership, at times contributing to some shambolic defending that has seen the Gers drop points.

As such his suspension has provoked a fair bit of hilarity amongst Celtic supporters who appear to see this as a hindrance to their chances of victory on Sunday. Rangers supporters too can see the funny side, with Kiernan becoming something of a joke figure in recent months.

Fans took to Twitter upon hearing the news to give their thoughts on the failed appeal…

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Leeds United defender Liam Cooper has responded to a fan on Twitter following the team’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Fulham on Tuesday night.Garry Monk’s side were a matter of minutes away from picking up all three points, but Tom Cairney struck in injury time to snatch a point for the Cottagers.In reality, Leeds could have been on the end of a defeat as they were dominated at times by the hosts, who went 1-0 down in the fifth minute because of an own goal from Tim Ream.The Whites remain in a comfortable position in the playoff places – fourth and eight points above seventh-placed Fulham.However, it was a difficult night for Monk and his men, particularly as they lost Kalvin Phillips to a red card in the 89th minute of the clash after he was given a second booking.After the game, Cooper, who was an unused substitute, made a point of thanking the fans that followed the team to London.He also directly responded to a supporter who admitted that the draw felt like a defeat.

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One season can be a very long time in football. Around this time in 2015/16, most were expecting Marcos Rojo to leave Manchester United in the summer, having struggled to impress since being brought to Old Trafford by Louis van Gaal after the 2014 World Cup.

But fast forward to present day and the Argentina international has made as many starts as any of Jose Mourinho’s centre-back options in the Premier League this season, seemingly gaining a keen admirer in the Red Devils’ new manager, and has kindled an unexpectedly strong partnership with the similarly once out-of-favour Phil Jones.

There’s even talk of United extending Rojo’s contract by twelve months at the end of the season, with his current terms due to expire in summer 2019. Bearing that in mind, we asked Red Devils fans earlier this week to vote for whether the defender deserved a new deal and the response was… a resounding yes!

As you can see, a staggering 83% of those who voted were in favour of Rojo extending his Old Trafford stay. Maybe United don’t need to spend big on a centre-back this summer after all.

It’s been a curious season at Manchester United; one that could still end in three trophies and Champions League qualification, but certainly won’t be remembered as a stellar campaign in the context of their long and illustrious history.

Nonetheless, Jose Mourinho’s debut campaigns at new clubs are nearly always transition seasons and most would argue the Red Devils are on the right path under the Portuguese, provided a few attacking options can be added to a vast if not spectacular squad this summer.

Before the next transfer window comes around, however, there’s the small matter of who deserves the Player of the Season award at Old Trafford. David De Gea’s claimed it for three consecutive seasons but according to our exclusive poll, United fans are eyeing a different winner this time around to topple the Spanish shot-stopper. Here’s a look at the top three…

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

It’s hard to imagine where Manchester United would be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic this season. He’s scored 36% of their 42 Premier League goals and has been one of the few players to provide consistent cutting edge in an otherwise lethargic attack. Rather tellingly, the Red Devils have failed to score twice in the three Premier League games he’s missed this term.

Not bad for a free transfer but nonetheless, our United readers have been more impressed with two of his team-mates this season.

2. Antonio Valencia

Not everybody was convinced when Antonio Valencia first started lining up at right-back – some still aren’t – but not many No.2s have exceeded his performance levels and consistency in the Premier League this season.

He’s notched up one goal and three assists from the right of defence and has missed just three top flight fixtures for the Red Devils, whilst averaging 2.3 tackles and 1.2 created chances per match. No doubt, the 31-year-old has found a new lease of life at Old Trafford.

1. Ander Herrera

Ander Herrera’s always been well-liked by the Old Trafford faithful but he’s only truly found his calling since Jose Mourinho took the helm and Paul Pogba returned to his former club last summer.

Lining up alongside the world-record signing in the middle of the park, the Spaniard’s provided the perfect balancing act, combining terrier-like tenacity off the ball with real quality and metronomic passing whilst in possession.

Much like Antonio Valencia, he’s gone from being a misfit to becoming a real unsung hero at Old Trafford, and our United readers reckon he deserves to take home this season’s award.

Results

Manchester United enjoyed a perfect Sunday after a win against Burnley and a defeat for Liverpool against Crystal Palace put them on the brink of UEFA Champions League qualification.

Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney gave the Red Devils a 2-0 win away to the Clarets before a Christian Benteke double broke Liverpool hearts at Anfield.

The results mean that United are just three points behind the Reds with two games in hand on Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Jose Mourinho and his side now head into an absolutely massive Manchester derby on Thursday, making the short trip to the Etihad to face City. A win there would put them in fourth place with just five games remaining.

After a fairly inconsistent season in the Premier League, especially at home, it appears as if Mourinho’s men are peaking at the perfect time, with UEFA Europa League glory also a real possibility.

Supporters are beginning to believe the tail-end of the season has lots of good stuff in store for them.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…

While Jose Mourinho never usually needs to find a reason to moan, Manchester United’s injury crisis has proved an ample reason from which to do so.

The Red Devils have seen their squad ripped apart by a series of injuries to some of their top players in recent weeks, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo long-term absentees.

Luke Shaw, who has done little to impress the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ at all this season it seems, recently added to the woe following his foot ligament damage, though there have been some promising reports today.

According to ESPN, United have been handed a major boost ahead of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo this week. The likes of Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling are understood to have trained today, along with Paul Pogba.

That quartet form a huge part of United’s first-team and will undoubtedly give the club a boost as they hunt for the only trophy missing from their illustrious collection.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to the injury boost.

The season may not officially be over just yet, but Manchester United fans are understandably already looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

After all, the Red Devils now only have Champions League qualification to play for but seem likely to obtain it with two chances to do so – finishing in the Premier League’s top four or winning the Europa League.

United’s forward line looks set for a bit of a revamp this summer and gossip linking them with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann is nothing new – in fact, it’s been commonplace throughout Jose Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford.

Until now, it’s largely been seen as a case of either/or. But recent reports from The Express suggest the Red Devils could move for both, describing them as Mourinho’s top summer targets.

However, FootballFanCast aren’t completely convinced swoops for both forwards would be achievable in the same summer, so we asked United supporters last week who they want their club to sign more – Griezmann or Lukaku.

Well, the results of our exclusive poll are now in and the Atletico ace has completely run away with it, claiming more than three times the number of votes as the Everton front-man. Are you in the United majority, or would you rather see the club move for Lukaku? Let us know by commenting below…

Tottenham Hotspur waved goodbye to White Hart Lane on Sunday following their 2-1 win against Manchester United – which guaranteed them a second-place finish in the Premier League – but Arsenal fans were quick to take a dig at their arch-rivals.

As the final whistle blew Spurs supporters rushed on to the pitch to commemorate their final moments at the famous stadium before they play their home games at Wembley next season, before moving into their new stadium for the 2018/19 campaign.

When the fans had returned to the seats, the farewell show continued.

Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the last moments at the Lane via social media, with many joking that they only went on the pitch to celebrate finishing above the Gunners for the first time since 1995, while others mocking them for the celebrations considering they finished second in the Premier League table.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

On loan Chelsea winger Isaiah Brown missed an open goal for Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final against Reading at Wembley on Monday, but he was let off the hook as the Terriers were still promoted to the Premier League after winning on penalties.

The 20-year-old joined Town on loan in January following a similar spell with Rotherham United in the first half of the campaign, and he helped the team finish in the play-off positions by scoring three goals in 12 league appearances.

He was named in the starting line-up by manager David Wagner for the final, but he suffered a nightmare moment just three minutes in when he somehow poked wide of an open goal from little more than a couple of yards out.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the horror miss via social media, with many saying he would fit right in as a first team player after bottling a final, as the Blues did against Arsenal on Saturday.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…