Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino says Virgil van Dijk needs to play as the Argentinian prepares his squad to face Manchester United on Saturday, reports Sky Sports.

The Dutch defender, who has not started a game since January, was a late substitute at Crystal Palace last week and made a goal scoring appearance for the U23s in a 3-0 win against Stoke City on Monday.

The Saints boss said: "We will decide on Friday, but every week for Virgil is important because he is getting better.

"After a long period of time without playing a game now he is training well, and it's good news for us because we need Virgil like every single player in our squad.

"Virgil is an important player for us. I think every single week he will improve, but at the same time he needs to play, he needs to train.

"The best training session for me is to play games. Now he is playing in the reserves and he is training well."