'Van Dijk enjoying life at Southampton again'

Van Dijk found himself the subject of serious interest from Liverpool during the summer, with reports claiming that a £50m+ move was a matter of when and not if

However, in the end, Liverpool were forced to withdraw their interest after the 'Saints' threatened to report them for illegally appraoching the player, leaving the defender in transfer limbo.

The Dutchman was banished to train on his own and his Southampton career appeared to be over when both club and player were left fuming with each other over the way his future was handled.

Since then though, Van Dijk had successfully fought his way back into the Southampton fold and Yoshida insists that the 25-year-old is enjoying life on the South coast once again.

'He is good. He is enjoying every day. I think he smiles a lot,' explained the Japan international.

'It is very comfortable with him, he never brings any negativity. That's his future, his decision. But, in this moment, he is really comfortable I think.

'It is tough for him but the most important thing is he is with us now and he puts everything on it with Southampton. That is the most important [thing].

'Maybe in the future something will happen, but at this moment he gives everything to the club. That is very good.'

Van Dijk spent a large spell on the sidelines last season due to a nasty ankle injury, with a combination of his recovery and the fall out from his transfer saga also ruling him out of the first few games of the new campaign, but Yoshida is confident that the Dutch international will soon be back to his best.

'He didn't play for a long time, about eight months, so the first couple of games he was not top level enough as he was before,' said Yoshida.

'But recently he has done very well and I can see he is very comfortable with more confidence. Game by game we feel much better.'