It is no secret that Liverpool fans are keen to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, and they still remain hopeful despite numerous obstacles coming their way.

In June, the Reds were forced to issue a public apology to the fellow Premier League club after being accused of tapping up the Dutch defender.

The club also claimed that they had withdrawn their interest in the 26-year-old, but that has not stopped the rumours from rumbling.

Chelsea were also linked to Van Dijk, but a recent report in The Mirror has claimed that the £50m-rated player has told Southampton that he only wants to join Liverpool.

Today, though, there was a disappointing development for the Merseyside outfit after the centre-back pictured boarding a plane to Austria with his Southampton teammates.

Mauricio Pellegrino’s side have headed to the European country to begin their preparations for the 2017-18 season.

Despite Van Dijk’s attendance, Liverpool fans remain hopeful that a deal will be done.

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West Ham United could be in danger of missing out on signing Montpellier playmaker Ryad Boudebouz due to Real Betis tabling a bid, according to France Football.

What’s the word?

The Algerian international is said to have attracted interest from numerous clubs this summer.

West Ham have been tracking the midfielder for a while, but it seems that Betis have made the first move.

France Football claims that the Spanish outfit have tabled an offer of £6.2m, which is lower than Montpellier’s valuation of £7.15m to £8.94m.

Bayer Leverkusen are also thought to be interested, while Sampdoria have reportedly been keeping tabs on the player.

What should the Hammers do?

If Montpellier are willing to let Boudebouz leave for less than £10m, then it would be ludicrous for West Ham not to even consider putting in a formal bid.

The former Bastia player has bags of flair and creativity that would be ideal for the East London outfit this season.

Following the acquisitions of Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic, Boudebouz could provide vital service by sitting behind the front man.

Slaven Bilic has had a positive summer in the transfer window, bringing in players well-versed in the Premier League.

So far, the club have recruited Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Arnautovic and former Manchester United striker Hernandez.

Boudebouz would add extra quality to the mix, and at a bargain price to boot.

Newcastle United will look to get their 2017-18 Premier League campaign off to the perfect start when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Championship holders will enter the match off the back of successive wins over Wolfsburg and Hellas Verona during what has been a successful pre-season.

As expected, a number of Premier League players have been active on their social media accounts this week as they look ahead to the start of the new campaign.

It was Ayoze Perez’s turn on Wednesday as the Newcastle forward revealed that he could not wait for the new league season to begin.

Arsenal face Leicester City in the opening Premier League fixture on Friday night, before a full programme takes place on the first weekend of the new campaign.

The 24-year-old managed six Premier League goals for Newcastle during the 2015-16 season, and a number of the club’s supporters have backed the attacker to shoot down Tottenham on Sunday.

As reported by The Daily Express, Everton are interested in signing Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic this summer.

What’s the story?

With Romelu Lukaku’s spell at Goodison Park now ancient history by football standards, Ronald Koeman needs to replace the many goals he brought to the table last season if the Toffees are to achieve their aims this season.

Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez have already arrived but it seems that Koeman is intent on adding one more forward to the mix before the transfer window shuts.

The Express say that they’re interested in Fiorentina man Nikola Kalinic, who the Serie A side rate at £22.5m.

Can he fill Lukaku’s boots?

Direct comparisons to Lukaku will always be unfair on any striker coming in, the Belgian is one of the greatest strikers to play at Everton in decades. Kalinic may not be a match for the Manchester United man, but he does have a fair goalscoring pedigree that can certainly be useful to Ronald Koeman.

His most impressive season to date came last year when he scored 20 goals in all competitions for Fiorentina, both domestically and in the UEFA Europa League, pointing to a player ready to make the transition to the English Premier League.

With prolific seasons behind him at the likes of Dnipro and Hajduk Split, the former Blackburn Rovers man can hit the rich vein of form required to make him a favourite on Merseyside.

In his prime at 29 years of age, he has a lot to offer the Toffees should they make a move for him.

A video of a player showing some impressive skill or scoring a wonder goal in training tends to be well received by supporters, but it was a different story for West Ham United fans on Tuesday.

The club uploaded a clip on Twitter of Mark Noble sending the ball into the top corner during a training session.

The club captain has divided opinion among the supporters over the last season or so, with many questioning his ability to influence games.

It has not been an ideal start to the season for the East London club as they are yet to pick up a point in the Premier League.

Slaven Bilic’s side have lost all three top-flight fixtures and conceded 10 goals in the process, while only managing to score two at the other end.

As expected, fans have been left frustrated with the performances on the pitch, so the majority were not best pleased with the club’s social media activity.

Crystal Palace suffered their fourth successive defeat without scoring at the start of the Premier League season following a 1-0 defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday, but Eagles fans are divided on the future of manager Frank de Boer.

The Dutchman was only appointed during the summer but he is already under huge pressure with the south London outfit failing to find the net or register a point on the board this term.

The Daily Telegraph had previously reported that the former Inter Milan boss had one game to save his job prior to the clash against the Clarets, but it remains to be seen whether he will get the boot.

De Boer’s side went behind in the early stages as Lee Chung-Yong’s short back-pass was capitalised on by Chris Wood, but they reacted well and will count themselves unfortunate to lose considering they had 23 efforts at goal and Scott Dann missed a sitter late on.

Crystal Palace supporters were quick to have their say on the latest loss via social media, but they are divided on their manager’s future with some believing he has to go, while others say it would be “madness” to sack him after four league games.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

It has been eight months since Virgil van Dijk started a game for Southampton, and there is still no indication as to when the defender will return to the first XI.

The Dutchman was a big talking point in Mauricio Pellegrino’s pre-match press conference on Thursday.

Van Dijk tried to instigate a move away from St Mary’s in the summer by submitting a transfer request amid reported interest from Liverpool and Chelsea.

However, the Saints held firm and refused to sanction a sale before eventually welcoming the defender back into the first team.

An ankle injury has kept Van Dijk on the sidelines for a lengthy spell, but he made his first appearance since January by coming off the bench in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend.

The former Celtic player has been in the matchday squad for the past two Premier League games, but Pellegrino has not confirmed when the centre-back will start, but he is expected to be included against Stoke City on Saturday.

The fans have had their say on the matter, while others are just pleased to see Van Dijk enjoying himself in training.

Speaking to the official Rangers website, Pedro Caixinha has provided an update to the status of Bruno Alves ahead of the Light Blue’s trip to McDiarmid Park on Friday night.

What’s the story?

The Rangers boss had previously stated that the ‘short week’ for players such as Bruno Alves and Ross McCrorie meant that he would need to assess both defenders on their return to Auchenhowie.

However, there’s positive news, with Caixinha expecting that Alves at least will be in training today and available for selection on Friday night against St Johnstone.

As quoted by the official Rangers website, the Portuguese said:

I think Bruno will arrive back in Scotland today and will be training with the group tomorrow. He will be able to be with us on Friday. With his situation, it was all about following the process – he did everything and has totally recovered from the injury on the calf.

That’s fantastic news for the team and for Rangers supporters who must have been worried there would be something of a makeshift defence against the Perth Saints tomorrow night. The Light Blues need their best players available for what will be a competitive match-up.

Pressure is on

With inconsistency again making life difficult for Pedro Caixinha at Rangers, he really needs a stellar October from his team with huge matches ahead, most notably in the League Cup semi-final against Motherwell.

St Johnstone too is an important fixture. Both sides are currently on equal points, with Rangers only in third due to goal difference. A win on Friday night will put distance between themselves and Tommy Wright’s side.

The Light Blues defence will need to be at the top of their game with Saints scoring in all but one of their Scottish Premiership matches so far, including at Celtic Park where they got a draw off of the Scottish Champions.

Alves’ return couldn’t be more timely and they’ll need every bit of his experience to guide them through a pressurised Friday night fixture.

It has been a tough three months for Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish, but he is now edging closer to a first-team return.

The England Under-21 international suffered a blow on the eve of the Championship season when he came down with kidney problems.

Due to the injury, the 22-year-old has been unable to play, but he could soon be in contention to make his first league appearance of the campaign.

On Monday evening, Grealish played 60 minutes of the Under-23s’ 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in Telford.

The midfielder came off the pitch unscathed, but it is unclear when manager Steve Bruce will welcome the young player back into the senior fold.

Last season, Grealish made 31 appearances in the second tier, 20 of which were starts, and in that time he scored five goals and created two assists.

After making his comeback, the midfielder took to Twitter to express his delight.

The fans, as expected, were just as happy to see the player back on the pitch.

West Ham’s turbulent start to the season continued last night as Brighton staged a 3-0 romping at the London Stadium.

A hard-fought point on the road appeared to be the most the newly-promoted Seagulls could hope for pre-kickoff – in fact, their previous four away outings in the Premier League produced just one draw and three defeats.

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But Chris Hughton’s side capitalised on the Irons’ lack of organisation almost instantly, veteran striker Glenn Murray putting them ahead after just ten minutes.

The visitors then added to their lead just after half-time through summer signing Jose Izquierdo, and further extended it late on as Murray converted from the penalty spot following a Pablo Zabaleta foul.

The result leaves West Ham in 17th place and should Leicester City win this weekend, they’ll drop into the relegation zone.

This isn’t what fans imagined when the club brought in the likes of Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic in the summer and it appears most have now given up on manager Slaven Bilic – with the majority inevitably blaming him for last night’s result.

Here’s a look at how Irons fans have responded to the 3-0 loss on Twitter…