Neil Lennon has declared Virgil van Dijk the best player he’s ever seen at Celtic and remains baffled how the club managed to pull it off for such a low fee at the time.
Virgil van Dijk
The former Celtic manager was instrumental in bringing the Dutchman to Glasgow in 2013 from FC Groningen. At the time, Van Dijk was a relatively unknown 21-year-old defender. But from the moment he walked through the door at Lennoxtown, Lennon knew he was dealing with something special.
“I don’t know how the club did it,” Lennon admitted on Open Goal. “We got him for like £2.2 million and as soon as he walked in the building, you’re like… ‘he’s phenomenal’. Absolutely phenomenal. Gorgeous as well – big handsome f****r. Legs like two tree trunks. Just made well.”
Van Dijk’s rise since then has been meteoric. From Celtic to Southampton and then a record-breaking £75m move to Liverpool, the Dutch international has become one of the world’s most dominant centre-halves.
Reflecting on that journey, Lennon recalled the early interest: “I remember Arsenal ringing me about him. I said: ‘What are you ringing me for? He’s ready now.’ And they were saying, ‘We’re not sure about his defensive [skills]’ – I was a fine.”
Van Dijk left Celtic in 2015, but his legacy at the club lives on – not only for his performances in green and white, but for what he’s gone on to achieve at the very top level of the game.
He’s still playing at Liverpool, featuring week in, week out. The Liverpool captain, who has won the Champions League and the league twice with Liverpool, signed a two-year extension with the Reds this season, seeing his contract now expire in 2027.
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