Before arriving at Celtic, Virgil van Dijk had had an unremarkable career. He was signed from FC Groningen and spent a couple of years at Parkhead and it was quite clear that he was a class apart. Still, not many could have imagined the heights that he would go on to reach in his career.
Today, Van Dijk is considered by many as the best defender of his generation. He would go on to leave Celtic for Southampton before eventually joining Liverpool, where he has established himself as a legend of the game and came very close to winning the Ballon d’Or but ultimately lost out to Lionel Messi.
Of course, Van Dijk had been excellent for Celtic as well. And it was at Parkhead that he showed his true potential for the first time.
Frank McAvennie certainly had some high praise for the Dutchman. As reported by Football Insider, the former Celtic player said about Van Dijk:
"“We got Van Dijk and he was a bit raw but right away you knew he was head and shoulders above everyone else, you could actually see it.“His thought process of the game was quicker than everyone else, he could read the game like nobody I have seen.“"
Celtic hero makes sensational claim about Van Dijk
Van Dijk has reached the very top level of the game at Liverpool. He has won every trophy possible with the Reds and at 31 years of age, he should have quite a bit left in the tank.
To be very honest, Liverpool have been very unlucky in the sense that their return to the top has coincided with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Otherwise, they could have dominated English football.
On the other hand, Celtic appear to have found a superb centre-back in the form of Cameron Carter-Vickers. He was brought in from Tottenham Hotspur, after never really getting a proper chance and has since proven to be an absolute rock at the back for the Hoops. Many believe that he is the best defender that the club have had since Van Dijk, which is high praise for any player.