Davis says the Dutchman, currently exiled from first-team training over his summer transfer request, would be welcomed back by his team-mates.
But the Northern Ireland midfielder says Van Dijk would face a fight for his place after other defenders flourished in his absence.
Southampton insist Van Dijk will not be sold before Thursday’s transfer deadline, meaning he could be brought back into the fold next week.
“He’s been a massive player for us for the last two seasons,” said Davis, who saw centre-back partners Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens keep a second clean sheet in three Premier League games this season at Huddersfield on Saturday.
“We missed him from January when he was injured and the likes of Jack and Maya have stepped in and done extremely well, so if he comes back he’s going to have to fight for that place again.
“But hopefully we can keep him because it will make our squad stronger.
Southampton are adamant they will not cave in and sell Virgil van Dijk.
The Holland international has been training on his own, having been disciplined by the club for not making himself available for games in pre-season.
But his situation has not caused rancour within the dressing room, according to Southampton captain Steven Davis.
‘The door has never been shut on him,’ said Davis.
'We will welcome him back. I’m sure if he came back into the team everybody would see the quality he’s undoubtedly got.
‘He is popular in the dressing room and has been a massive player for us. Hopefully we’ll keep him as it will make our squad stronger.’
Defences dominated this game and Huddersfield were only prevented from making it three wins from three by a superb performance from Fraser Forster, the Southampton keeper.
Forster was omitted from the England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying games, but Maya Yoshida said: ‘It hasn’t affected him, he’s a strong guy. He’s like Hulk.’
VIRGIL van Dijk cannot expect to walk straight back in to the Saints team if he returns to the fold following his protracted transfer saga.
That is the assessment of captain Steven Davis, who firmly believes that if Van Dijk is still a Saints player at the end of transfer window he’ll have to be ready to battle to win his place.
The window closes on Thursday at 11pm.
“We obviously missed him from January when he was injured and the likes of Jack (Stephens) and Maya (Yoshida) have stepped in and done extremely well,” he said.
“If he comes back he’s going to have to fight for that place again.
“But hopefully we can keep him because it will make our squad stronger.”
Davis has reiterated the door remains open for Van Dijk to come back to the team, having spent the close season pushing for the exit.
The 26-year-old has trained alone since July and has since handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force a move to Liverpool or Chelsea.
“That door has never been shut. There has been a lot made of the situation outside the club that isn’t necessarily true all the time but we will welcome him back,” he said.
“He’s a top quality player and he’s done well for us over the last couple of seasons and I’m sure if he came back into the team everybody would see the quality he’s undoubtedly got.”
The 32-year-old midfielder has been pleased to see the club take a firm stance on Van Dijk, with vice chairman of football Les Reed and chairman Ralph Krueger adamant the Dutchman is not for sale.
“It sends out a signal that we want to keep our best players and we want to try to build and progress and strengthen each season,” Davis said.
“That’s what we’re trying to do and hopefully we can do it.”
Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino refused to rule out entering the transfer market for fresh recruits before the end of the transfer window.
Davis believes that having a competitive squad is “healthy for the team”.
“We’ve got a good squad and there is good competition for places,” he said.
“Everybody knows if they’re in the starting line-up they’re going to have to work to stay in and that’s healthy for the team.
“There is pressure on you so you have to go out and perform.”
The Northern Ireland international has urged supporters not to judge Saints on their lack of goals just yet, after scoring just one goal from open play in the opening three games of the campaign.
Pellegrino’s men remain unbeaten having drawn 0-0 against Swansea and Huddersfield, between beating West Ham 3-2 - in which two goals came from the penalty spot.
Davis insists the team are still taking in Pellegrino’s ideas and attacking philosophy, and is sure the goals will start flowing.
He said: “I wouldn’t judge it based on these games. I think we’re still creating good opportunities and getting in good areas and it’s just about getting that clinical edge into our game.
“The goals will come if we keep creating those chances and hopefully we will see that.”
Davis says it’s about getting the balance right.
“We’re trying at times to press higher up the pitch, get more pressure on the ball and move the ball quickly and try to find balls to stretch teams as well,” he said.
“It’s just about getting that balance.
“We’ve seen an improvement in the games we’ve played so far so hopefully we can keep building on that and working on it in the training pitch.
“It’s still early days. We’ve had a change in personnel and a change in manager so it’s going to take a little bit of time but there are some positive signs.”
As Premier League football heads into an all too early international break, Saints need to reflect on a reasonable start to the season and take the positives.
There is a sense that maybe a collective lack of confidence and belief, around the club in general from the fans through to the players, is having a negative impact.
Certainly it may be clouding judgement and clear thought about where Saints are and how they must progress.
For example, Saints secured a solid point at Huddersfield. It wasn’t easy, they had chances to win it, and in the first half they could have lost it. But any point away from home in the top flight is acceptable.
Yet after the game you would have thought Saints would have been steamrollered with the comments of a few of the players and the frustration of some fans.
Putting things in perspective, and leaving the Wolves defeat in the League Cup aside and writing it off as a temporary aberration, it is three games unbeaten in the Premier League to kick-off Mauricio Pellegrino’s first campaign in charge at St Mary’s.
The team are still very much a work in progress but there are signs of gradual improvement, while the manager himself is also seeming to be getting to grips with things.
There was a case to be made that he could have been a little more proactive in terms of helping his team with tactical and personnel changes in both the win over West Ham and the loss to Wolves.
However, he proved his ability to make some significant decisions at Huddersfield.
Saints spent the majority of the first half under the pump against a buoyant side. Pellegrino switched things around at the break, and then a couple more as the second half progressed, and his side took control and came so close to winning it.
There is still much to be done, and the manager is all too aware of that, but he can start to see his vision taking shape. The players are slowly beginning to adapt.
Pellegrino has always cautioned that it will take time. He has admitted that he doesn’t want to try and change too much, too soon - keep that thought in perspective.
But he also realises he works in an environment where time is a precious commodity, and one not afforded to too many people.
He is, therefore, having to strike a balance between introducing new ideas and trying to do what is required to get results at the same time.
It’s not easy, and particularly given he didn’t have his full squad to work with for the vast majority of pre-season.
Clearly goalscoring remains a problem. As we have said for a long time, Pellegrino doesn’t really have improved attacking options from those which Claude Puel struggled to get goals out of. A new manager cannot wave a magic wand and suddenly change all of that.
Nor too can he just turn on its head a deep seated lack of collective confidence in the final third, if that does even exist.
But, on the whole, it has been a solid if not spectacular start to the season, and with most people predicting Saints for a midtable type of year, it is right on track.
It’s not exciting, but that’s the way it is.
Their last opponents before the fortnight off, Huddersfield, are a club on the kind of roll that Saints once were. And perhaps this is part of the problem.
Huddersfield have come up after a great year in the Championship and are riding the crest of a wave of enthusiasm, excitement and adrenaline in the Premier League.
Saints have been there very recently. They cruised through League One, made it straight up out of the Championship, were battling to survive in the Premier League, and then improving year after year with exciting football under Mauricio Pochettino and European qualification courtesy of Ronald Koeman, Saints have had that upward feeling for a long time, but that could never continue without masses of money, as the next step is the top six regularly.
That is perhaps why Saints feel flat. They have hit the glass ceiling, and when you have had the thrill of progress, just fighting hard to stand still – an achievement in itself at this level – just doesn’t bring the same feelings of joy everybody loves from sport.
Saints could have beaten Huddersfield had they taken an opening chance after 11 minutes as Steven Davis played Nathan Redmond in with just the keeper to beat but he opened up his body and fired across goal and wide.
They spent the majority of the rest of the first half on the back foot as Huddersfield’s enthusiasm in a raucous atmosphere was a little overwhelming.
Huddersfield pressed so hard, hunted in packs, and kept knocking on the door.
Fraser Forster was forced into a few saves, while there was some brave but desperate last gasp Saints defending, and a few poor finishes, to keep the score level.
Pellegrino switched things around at half time, dropping Oriol Romeu deeper and playing Davis and Mario Lemina ahead in a two, and it helped disrupt the considerable influence of Arron Mooy and gave Saints a strong foothold.
They almost got the win in stoppage time, too, as Ryan Bertrand arrived at the far post to meet Shane Long’s cross with a well-directed header, only for Tommy Smith to appear on the line to hack it clear.
With a couple of weeks to clear heads and then refocus minds once the transfer window shuts, it is worth trying to find the positives as well as reflect on what needs to be improved.
VOTE: Rank the best summer Deadline Day deals in Premier League history
We want you to rank the best summer Deadline Day signings in Premier League history.
This summer’s window closes on Thursday night at 11pm, with live coverage throughout the day on Sky Sports News.
The final hours before the deadline can often be the most frantic of the season and last year was no different, with big-money moves for David Luiz, Moussa Sissoko and Islam Slimani pushed over the line late on.
Ahead of Thursday, we have taken a look back at some of the most successful Deadline Day deals.
Arsenal’s indifferent start to the season continued as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The Wembley woes of their North London rivals continued, too, as Chris Wood rescued a point for Burnley at the death. Meanwhile, Frank de Boer’s nightmare start at Crystal Palace carried on as they were beaten by Swansea at Selhurst Park.
Here, Sportsmail gets the fans’ verdict following an entertaining weekend of action…
Had Arsenal had never seen Liverpool play? Setting up with a back three with wing backs pushed up high was asking for trouble, and trouble was what they got as Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah ran riot.
The front men were electric but it was Liverpool’s dominant midfield that laid the platform for this brilliant performance.
All three were fantastic. It might be Gini Wijnaldum’s best game for the club and Emre Can was a beast, too.
The driving force behind it all was the skipper though, take a bow ‘Hendo’ lad.
We’re three games into the season and it’s clear the worst bit of business of the summer was the 2 year deal Arsenal gave to Arsene Wenger.
The 4-0 loss against Liverpool was entirely predictable. The feeble performance was littered with so many horrendous individual mistakes it would take a day to log them all.
Arsene Wenger is dead as an elite manager, he’s the worst leading man of the top seven and judging by the way Arsenal played at Anfield, it would be a good season if we finished seventh.
The team has downed tools in August. The players no longer respect the manager. It’s #WengerOut and the sad thing is, it’d be tough to find a fan who doesn’t agree.
Star man: Petr Cech (who kept the game to just merely terrible, versus apocalyptically bad)
Oh Tottenham. Why do you do this to us? 1-0 up with just injury time to see out and we concede an equaliser which allows the Wembley hoodoo brigade to thrive on stories of our (in their eyes) inevitably terrible season at the national stadium.
We should have been four up by the time they scored but in the end it felt like it was coming. Disappointing.
What a day to be a Burnley fan. It’s one thing winning at Chelsea but now we’ve only gone and got ourselves a point at Wembley against Spurs.
It was an uphill battle at times but we defended well when we had to and, despite going behind, we kept it to 1-0 and stayed in the game.
We were superb defensively with man of the match James Tarkowski having his best ever Burnley game.
And what a Premier League debut for Chris Wood scoring the point-winning goal at Wembley.
A dominant performance from the Blues with the outstanding Cesc Fabregas making a triumphant return to first team action.
Chelsea denied Everton space and time on the ball with their high press, as a result the visitors posed little threat until late on which was dealt with comfortably.
Chelsea took full advantage of a poor Everton first half performance with goals from Cesc Fabregas and another for Alvaro Morata. The only disappointment for me was that we did not add more goals in the second half.
Make no mistake, Chelsea made the big-spending visitors look ordinary with a solid, professional performance. It’s just a shame we head into the international break now with our momentum building once again.
Death, taxes and Everton rolling over at Stamford Bridge!
There were a number of factors that went against us in all honesty: the fact we’ve had 3 away games in 6 days, and the amount of injuries, too.
However there are no excuses for the way we played. Long balls smashed from Pickford is a good Plan B option, but not a good Plan A.
Our build-up play was non-existent and there is a huge disconnect between our midfield and attack.
Three games, 10 goals, 0 goals conceded, top of the Premier League. Manchester United turned another potentially frustrating draw into a win and confidence is continuing to be built.
Our substitutes changed the game and our whole team looks balanced. Eric Bailly and the supreme Phil Jones are building a brilliant partnership. Man United are on the march.
Leicester City came away from the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ without any points after a resolute 70 minutes where they left Manchester United frustrated.
United showed intent with 70 per cent possession for most of the game. The defending from Leicester wasn’t pretty, but very effective, for the first 60 mins.
This was epitomised by a superb performance by Kasper Schmeichel including a great save from Romelu Lukaku from a penalty.
The home dominance finally converted into goals as the depth and strength of their bench showed its value. Rashford scoring the first, with subs - Lingard and Fellaini - combining for the second.
A win to settle the nerves after the atmosphere surrounding the club had turned from optimism in May to uncertainty by August.
Mikel Merino dictated the tempo, running the show alongside Isaac Hayden at the centre. Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie were a constant threat on the flanks, Joselu’s hold-up play was superb and Ayoze Perez played off him well, too.
The jury is still out on whether Newcastle could cope defensively against an opposition with greater attacking threat, but the performance was encouraging and much improved upon the defeat to Huddersfield last weekend.
Well, what can you say? Another shambolic away performance.
West Ham have become an error-prone mess that can’t get a grip on any game and lack any enthusiasm or drive from midfield.
No hope, no direction, no clue in all facets of the game and it derives from the coaching staff.
There comes a point where you need to start addressing the manager. I think we’ve reached that point.
What a cruel game football can be. Bournemouth bossed this game for 20 minutes and scored an amazing goal with Charlie Daniels’ left-side rocket.
But as soon as Man City equalised, it was a toe-to-toe battle ultimately decided by a 97th minute goal in a game that was only assigned five minutes of added time. It’s a shame Mike Dean isn’t allowed to explain, but sending off Raheem Sterling was no consolation.
The home support is tremendous and certainly lifted the players. Eddie Howe will be relieved that he got a performance from his team and that by playing three at the back it made them more competitive further up the pitch. The points will come.
I could have picked Charlie Daniels as man of the match for his great goal, but overall the most pleasing play came from Tyrone Mings. Mings came into the side after his midweek heroics, and he didn’t put a foot wrong in this game. The way he is playing could well give Eddie Howe the solidity he needs at the back.
There aren’t many better ways to win a game than with a last-minute goal in front of your travelling fans to send them ecstatic, so the scenes at the final whistle were brilliantly wild. Not even Mike Dean’s lack of common sense could spoil that moment.
It was painfully tense in the end, but we deserved to win. Some of the one-touch, pass-and-move football we played in the first half was just sublime and we will have some fun watching the two Silvas and De Bruyne this season.
We haven’t fully clicked yet, but other sides will be scared when we do. Hopefully it won’t always be as tense as this!
Another point towards safety, and another clean sheet. Worth less than £5million, Town’s defence continues to amaze and was solid again, for the third game in a row.
Town started strongly, with Ince, Mounié, and Kachunga all looking lively. Aaron Mooy was yet again allowed to control the play and looked dangerous.
In the second period Town’s legs were stretched and Saints tested Lössl once or twice, however a point was the fair result in the end.
A two-week break will he welcomed in the Town camp, however the Terriers don’t look out of place in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pellegrino remains undefeated in the Premier League, yet the cracks of last season are still there to be seen.
The defence held on to keep a clean sheet, while the midfield pairing of Lemina and Romeu battled endlessly. Unsurprisingly, however, we crumbled in the final third.
Tadic was once again ineffective, Redmond has too many responsibilities, and Gabbiadini is being starved of service.
Our goalscoring problems run far deeper than the manager. Regardless of who’s in charge, we need signings to turn this around.
Huddersfield had the better of the game, but Southampton had the game’s best chances - a share of the spoils is certainly a fair result.
Still plenty for Frank de Boer to prove as his new style and formation continues to misfire.
Questions must be asked of the players’ ability to adapt to the new philosophy the Dutchman is trying to implement.
Palace looked much better after the introduction of Cabaye and Lee by reverting to a more comfortable flat back four.
Benteke has to start taking the chances that come his way.
First win on the board - lovely! The Swans dispatched a pretty lacklustre Palace side and were definitely deserved victors on the day after a solid away performance.
Sam Clucas impressed on his debut in midfield and the two scorers Jordan Ayew and Tammy Abraham also enjoying 90 minutes in the Selhurst sun. Can we play Palace every week?
With a moment of outright lunacy, Miguel Britos turned a game we should have been looking to win into one we were lucky to scrape a point from. He should hang his head in shame.
Brighton fans cheekily jeered ‘he’s just too good for you’ about Knockaert after the red card but, thankfully, the hour that followed proved that wasn’t the case as we dealt with him well.
That said, the Seagulls had the best scoring chances and we were fortunate not to concede. As an outlet, Richarlison was a different class. How on earth is he playing for us?
Quite simply, we battered them 0-0. They settled for a draw after the red card but we were the better side when they had 11 men, and in total control when they had 10.
However, after having a nailed-on penalty turned down by a weak referee, and hitting the post twice, the goal our performance so richly deserved proved elusive.
New lad, Jose Izquierdo, didn’t have enough time to shine, but he won our hearts with his tracking back. An away point is OK, but 2 more went begging.
Three 1-0’s always seemed too good to be true. A rare defensive mistake at the back from the usually excellent Hegazi gifted Crouch a goal.
On a positive note we looked much better going forward and on another day could have had two or three. Nyom and Rodriguez worked their socks off and Gareth Barry rolled back the years in midfield.
Seven points from nine is a great start and Berahino is still yet to score for Stoke…
Stoke have a dreadful record in games against sides managed by Tony Pulis, so a draw here is very welcome. I’d have taken it before kick-off and I didn’t expect it when we went 1-0 behind just after the hour mark so it was a real bonus.
There’s a lot to admire in what Mark Hughes is trying to put together this season but goal scoring and creativity remains a massive problem. In the end it took old warhorse Peter Crouch to snaffle up an equaliser.
We’re happy with a point on the day but aware of the forward problems which clearly need to be sorted out by our manager.
Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso has topped the Sky Sports Power Rankings this week.
Alonso won six tackles and achieved 91 per cent passing accuracy during the Blues’ 2-0 win over Everton on Sunday - but was boosted by his match-winning double against Tottenham last week.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba slipped one place to No 2, despite helping United record a third successive win during their 2-0 win over Leicester.
Team-mates Romelu Lukaku (No 5, down one place), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (No 6, up three places) and David de Gea (No 7, up 22 places) are also among the top performers.
Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield on Super Sunday, with goal-scorers Sadio Mane (No 4, up six places), Roberto Firmino (No 8, up 34 places) and Mo Salah (No 9, up 42 places) soaring into the top 10. Meanwhile, not one Arsenal player made the top 50.
Huddersfield stopper Jonas Lossl has been among the top three performers since the start of the season and retained his place at No 3 after keeping a third successive clean sheet during a 0-0 draw against Southampton.
Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli climbed 28 places to No 10 after putting Spurs ahead against Burnley at Wembley before a last-minute equaliser from Claret’s new signing Chris Wood.
The Power Rankings methodology reflects a player’s performance over the last five matchdays by awarding points to players for 32 different stats. Only games from this season will be factored before matchday five.
Below, we present this week’s Power Rankings, your club’s top points scorer and we will also reveal the accumulative season rankings after matchday five.
The Sky Sports Power Rankings will be updated every week during the season, so be sure to keep an eye on the big movers…
When the annual end of season awards come around a number of watchful eyes are usually pointed in the direction of the Young Player of the Year recipients.
West Ham’s Declan Rice and a number of other players are edging their way into their respective first teams, so talkSPORT.com looks at all the other top young players in the Premier League.
Note: Not every club awarded a young player award last season. Where possible we have found an equivalent or looked at the previous year’s winner.
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