After being an unused substitute for Holland Virgil Van Dijk has made his debut for Saints in a behind closed doors friendly fixture.

Ronald Koeman must be keen to get Virgil Van Dijk used to the way Southampton play after setting up a friendly match at Staplewood against League 2 Oxford United this afternoon.

Aimed at giving the members of the squad who have not played during this international break a bit of game time Van Dijk lined up in a team that included Jay Rodriguez, Juanmi, Steven Caulker & Kelvin Davis, as well as the likes of Sam McQueen and Ryan Seager.

Saints took the lead when Jay Rodriguez tapped in the rebound after seeing his penalty kick saved in the early stages, but Oxford were level 7 minutes later.

But the lead lasted barely a minute as Juanmi put through by Jay Rodriguez saw his shot take a deflection and loop over the Oxford keeper.

But if Brendon Rodgers almost certainly watching from the branches of his usual nearby tree thought he was about to see a goal feast then he was wrong, this would be the end of the scoring.

Ronald Koeman though would have been happy at seeing a good work out for both senior and fringe squad players as well as getting Van Dijk some game time with some of his new team mates.

Photo: Action Images

IWOZTHERE added 23:16 - Sep 8 Good preparation but no mention of Bertrand or Clasie? Any news?
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