Celtic boss admitted making Virgil van Dijk mistake

Virgil van Dijk was a top player even while he was at Celtic. It was clear that he was a class apart. But not many would have foreseen the success that the Dutchman would achieve after departing Parkhead. He established himself at Southampton before making the move to Liverpool, where he has won everything possible.

Van Dijk is a Liverpool legend and is considered one of the best defenders in Premier League history. He has also recently been named the captain of the Reds.

That is quite the rise for Van Dijk. Many had doubted whether he would succeed at the very top level. It seems that Brendan Rodgers might have been one of them.

As reported by TBR Football, pundit Dave McKinnon said while speaking on PLZ Soccer:

"“Let me tell you a story of what Brendan said to me when Celtic were playing against Hamilton.  I would talk to him about football and told him that I was down in England and he said to me, ‘I made a mistake when I was at Liverpool.‘Because my scout told me [Virgil] van Dijk was a top, top player. But my interpretation of Scotland at that time was they didn’t really have to exert themselves and I didn’t think he’d be able to play 90 minutes all the time at a certain level because he was playing in Scotland. But I’ve changed my attitude now.’“And as you know I think he could have got him for maybe £8-9 million and what did they pay eventually? £70m? So I think that was a mistake but I think it was a big lesson for him.”"

Celtic boss admitted making Virgil van Dijk mistake

Some top-quality players have been coming through Scottish football in recent years. And Van Dijk has certainly been the most successful amongst them till now.

Not even his biggest fans would have expected him to go on and achieve the things that he has. It is worth pointing out that before arriving at Celtic, he did not have a remarkable career.

Celtic’s scouting team deserve a lot of credit as well for discovering a talent like Van Dijk. He still has quite a bit of football left in the tank and let’s see how the remaining years of his glorious career turn out.

As for Celtic, they are always on the lookout for the next big thing. That has been pretty clear in their transfer strategy as the club have signed a number of highly-rated young players with a ton of potential in recent years. Some have worked out, some have not, but most importantly, the Hoops have continued to enjoy success on the pitch.