Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has spoken about his time with Virgil van Dijk back in their days at Celtic.
Lennon brought the Netherlands international to Parkhead for £2.3m and branded him as a superstar.
He also admits that he was left surprised that no top six Premier League side made no approach to sign him.
According to HITC, Lennon claims that so many clubs were reluctant to sign him on the basis that he was “playing in Scotland”.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said:
It’s embarrassing. I received phone calls from big clubs about Van Dijk on a number of occasions and could not believe what they were waiting on.
Southampton did the right thing. They came in and completed the business. It was an absolute no-brainer, but because of this ‘playing in Scotland’ nonsense.
Van Dijk then moved him on to Southampton for £13m before his £75m move to Anfield earlier this season.
The Netherlands centre-back will most likely play a part in the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Kiev.
And Lennon believes that the defender has improved the Liverpool defence and also says they could have signed him for less.
He has made Liverpool better. He has been the missing link.
Virgil has made Liverpool far, far better. Defensively they are a lot sounder now, to the point Manchester City only scored once against them over two games in the quarter final.
However, they could have had him for £10-£12m two or three years ago if they had done their job properly.
