Championship

‘I WAS LUCKY TO LEARN SO MUCH FROM STAR VIRGIL’

by
The Football League Paper Team
10 August 2025

By Chris Dunlavy

BIG INTERVIEW: ALFIE JONES
WHEN Alfie Jones says he learned from the best, the new Middlesbrough defender isn’t exaggerating.
As a teenager coming through the ranks at Southampton, Jones spent countless mornings training alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Signed from Celtic in 2015, the Dutchman spent three years at St Mary’s before making a blockbuster £75m transfer to Liverpool.
It was a world-record fee for a defender, but Van Dijk made it look like peanuts; the flawless 34-year-old has since led the Reds to two Premier League titles, the Champions ...

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