Ronald Koeman in an attempt to appease an increasingly restless fanbase is putting the word about that he is launching a bid to sign Virgil Van Dijk from Saints.

When Ronald Koeman went to Everton it was allegedly with the promise of a £100 million transfer kitty plus whatever was brought in from outgoing moves with John Stones deserting to Manchester City for £50 million that had the Goodison faithful salivating that their club was about to challenge for the Champions League spots as well as splash the cash.

But they were soon to be sorely disappointed in short Koeman sgned only four players in the window, former Saint Maarten Stekelenburg on a free, Idrissa Gueye for around £7.5 million, the 32 year old Ashley Williams from Swansea for a frankly atonishing £12 million and Yannick Bollassie for £20 million.

These four signings cost the Toffees around £10 million less than they raked in for Stones leaving Everton fan wondering what happened to the £100 million pound war chest promised to Koeman on arrival.

Perhaps Koeman himself is wondering !

However the jury is still out on Merseyide over Koeman, yes he had a good start in the Premier League, but after losing at home to Norwich in the League cup, a competition that many saw as their best chance of a trophy and European qualification this season, they have only won once in 8 Premier League games culminating in the defeat at St Mary's and although Everton are still 7th Everton fans are starting to wonder whether Koeman is any better than Roberto Martinez the man he replaced, at this stage last season Martinez actually had 1 point more than Koeman has this after 13 games.

This is making the Everton fans restless, they are seeing yet another false hope being dashed, they see Koeman merely repeating the team selections of Martinez and the same pattern and they are wondering where the transfer kitty has gone.

So this has lead to rumours hitting the press this morning that Koeman is about to launch a bid in January for Virgil Van Dijk and £40 million is the amount quoted.

The main problem with this rumour is that according to the same sources Liverpool are wlling to spend £50 million, so already Everton are struggling to keep up with their neighbours both in terms of the transfer fee and also what they could offer Van Dijk.

Van Dijk was the best kept secret in the Premier League last season, but word is getting out this and he is starting to be in demand, from a Saints point of view they know they do not have to sell, the Dutch defender only signed a new long term deal in May, however in the long term they also know it will be hard to keep hold of him.

From that viewpoint it is key that Saints can continue to offer him European football and a shot at honours, that is why the game at Arsenal is crucial as is the Europa League do or die clash with Happoel Be'er Sheva.

Win both of those and there is plenty to play for after the transfer window shuts at the end of January, the player himself will be happy, but lose them both and we are open to unwanted attention for Van Dijk.

But his standards are way above Everton at present, this transfer rumour is more likely nothing more than Koeman's agent or journalists friendly towards him helping him give the impression that all is well at Goodison and the so called "Project" he keeps referring to in interviews is still going to plan.

So I would not be too bothered with this rumour, even if Koeman intends to try and spend some of this transfer kitty, I think that Everton do not have the clout on the pitch to offer Van Dijk the chance of success on the pitch that he will surely be looking for in his next move.

Even Koeman is talking of a 4-5 year plan for Everton, for Virgil Van Dijk that is too long to hang around for success.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 11:07 - Nov 29 I think most of us are resigned to losing VVD in the summer but I would be very concerned if we started "cashing in" during the January window, especially for such a key player. This story is beginning to look ominous though - we have now moved to the stage where fees are being mentioned and indeed I saw the phrase "Liverpool are willing to meet Saints' ASKING PRICE" in the Echo report. I don't like the phrase 'asking price' for obvious reasons. I believe that VVD will end up at one of the very biggest clubs and would only see him going to Everton to join Koeman as a stepping-stone for them both going to Barca (look's like that job could well come up in the summer). If that's the case we should hold out and get the full fee from the big boys rather than allowing a Merseyside club to shave 20m off our profit.

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SanMarco added 11:07 - Nov 29 I think most of us are resigned to losing VVD in the summer but I would be very concerned if we started "cashing in" during the January window, especially for such a key player. This story is beginning to look ominous though - we have now moved to the stage where fees are being mentioned and indeed I saw the phrase "Liverpool are willing to meet Saints' ASKING PRICE" in the Echo report. I don't like the phrase 'asking price' for obvious reasons. I believe that VVD will end up at one of the very biggest clubs and would only see him going to Everton to join Koeman as a stepping-stone for them both going to Barca (look's like that job could well come up in the summer). If that's the case we should hold out and get the full fee from the big boys rather than allowing a Merseyside club to shave 20m off our profit.

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steve73 added 11:23 - Nov 29 Sometimes I bloody hate football. This era of the 'career footballer' has killed a vital part of our game. Of course I understand it and I don't really blame the players. But there's no real empathy between supporter and player anymore. Long contracts are only signed to boost the transfer fee, not because anybody intends to see a 3-5 year contract out. And we're between a rock and a hard place, with either accepting mediocre players we can keep or acting like an audition stage for better players to prove they deserve a shot at a big club. Either way we get left with no loyal heroes who we can cheer, knowing they love the club as much as we do. The whole league is structured so that we all know our place in the pecking order without kicking a ball. Bit negative I admit, but it's so draining. We can never finish the building job, like a beautiful house that keeps getting bulldozed before the roofs been put on. Very annoyed today.

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halftimeorange added 11:43 - Nov 29 Stranger transfers than Van Dijk going to Everton have taken place. These days really talented players apparently move solely for money and happily sit on the bench for years. If Van Dijk went to Everton he would surely play every game whereas, at a really big club, any slight loss of form or change of manager could see him end up like Morgan. I just hope there's another one like him already identified to follow in the footsteps of Lovren and Alderwereld.

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SaintNick added 12:02 - Nov 29 I think footballers have confidence in their own ability, when Schneiderlin went to United he really expected to play and be first choice
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bstokesaint added 12:21 - Nov 29 I don't see as much doom and gloom as some. I don't expect VVD to be with us for a long time, unless there is a miraculous change in fortunes and we win something, but I will enjoy all the time he is with us. It's very rare for us to have an undisputed world class player. And for that reason I can't see him going to Everton. To be honest I think even Liverpool might be stretched if a true European giant weighed in. I for one hope when that time comes that that is what happens. I'd respect VVD more for realizing that too. He must know he is a class above. In terms of us never improving and selling before we have a chance I'd also disagree that this was true, as 7-8 seasons of successive improvement back this statement up. I think our strategy is just to improve bit by bit over time and establish ourselves as a regular top half side and then maybe top 6 side. Both would be places we haven't been before. I still also strongly believe that a number of the "superstars" that we have sold previously have been found out at their next clubs and have not had the impact everyone thought they would have. There aren't many I would want back.

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bstokesaint added 12:26 - Nov 29 As for Everton's success, or lack of it, I don't think there were many people who genuinely believed that their relatively small transfer kitty would really catapult them into the realms of the Premier League's elite. A few optimistic Everton fans maybe, but everyone else saw it as the sideways move that it was with a mega salary attached. I'm not bitter about Koeman. I'm done with that. It just proves that even those in the sport who seemingly have some integrity don't. That's how I see the game now. I don't believe a word anyone says and just try and enjoy each game as a spectacle and forget all the rest of it!

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ItchenNorth added 13:20 - Nov 29 I couldn't really give a toss about which club a player goes to (as long as its not Pompey): as long as the deal is great ! Its more about the reinvestment once sold. I agree with the point above that I think we are resigned to losing VVD, but any activity in January would be a real kick in the teeth. Let's do all out business in the summer please. If we received 50 mil for VVD and reinvested the vast majority of this this into a new centre back and a number 9; i'd be happy.

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BoondockSaint added 13:57 - Nov 29 Didn't know Les Reed was running Everton's "5 year plan" too! Yeah , San Marco, "asking price" is worrisome, if VVD wants to leave it should be "contacted Champions League teams to allow them to bid on him". But unfortunately we have Boot Sale Les having a clear out.
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highfield49 added 14:25 - Nov 29 As usual I agree with most of the above comments and my hackles rise every time I see the phrase "........joins the bidding war". Normally an item is put into an auction with an intention to achieve the best price or at least ensure it goes to a decent home where it's going to be utilised. So far as I'm aware VVD hasn't got a "for sale" tag attached but sadly we are all accepting that he wont be playing for our team much longer. The other side of the coin of course is that we turn around and perpetuate the system by signing players from smaller feeder clubs like Celtic. Next up Dembele in January?

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halftimeorange added 19:49 - Nov 29 I think I read somewhere that there is a £30M buy-out clause in Virgil's contract which, if true, is peanuts to gain a player of his undisputed quality. If there is a bidding war he'll go for a lot more than that.
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