Van Dijk dominates Southampton awards

Virgil van Dijk dominated Southampton’s end-of-season awards to cap an impressive first season in English football.

The Netherlands international won both of the club’s main accolades as he was named Players’ Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the season for his displays in 2015-16.

Van Dijk joined Southampton from Celtic for a reported fee of around £13 million in September and has gone on to make 33 Premier League appearances in defence.

The 24-year-old, who signed a new six-year contract last week, beat Shane Long and Steven Davis to the fans’ award after polling over half of the votes.

“I want to thank everyone who voted for me, of course,” Van Dijk told the club’s official website.

“There are no words for this. I’m just very happy. I want to thank everybody at the club and all the staff who helped me and hopefully we can make it even better.

“I think the fans have been amazing for me this year and hopefully we can continue in that way.

“The first day I came here I felt very welcomed straight away. I think all the lads in the group have been amazing as well and I think the team is perfect.

“I’m very grateful for everything this season. It’s been a great season so far and hopefully we can finish it very well this weekend.”

Cuco Martina won goal of the season for his strike against Arsenal on Boxing Day, while Ryan Bertrand won the President’s Choice award.