‘No reason’ why Salisu can’t emulate Van Dijk – Hasenhuttl

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl sees “no reason” why Mohammed Salisu cannot become as good as Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk.

Salisu this week hailed former Saints defender van Dijk as one of the world’s best defenders and revealed his aspirations of reaching the same level.

The pair will be on opposing sides on Saturday afternoon when their clubs meet in the Premier League at Anfield.

After a slow start to life in England following his 2020 summer move from Spanish club Real Valladolid, Salisu has become increasingly influential at St Mary’s, starting all but one of 12 top-flight games this term.

“It shows you how much he had to learn that it took so long until he was an option for the starting XI,” said Southampton boss Hasenhuttl.

“Especially with the ball, he can develop massively.

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“When you speak about Van Dijk with his long balls and his calmness on the ball, he still has a way to go. But there’s no reason why he couldn’t learn it.

“A good thing is that in the centre-back position, the older you get, the better you get because of the more experience you get.

“This is definitely a player that showed this season that he deserved to play from the beginning and I’m very happy with his progress.”