Virgil van Dijk was a colossal signing for Celtic.
The towering Dutchman impressed chief Parkhead scout John Park and the club went on to sign him from Groningen for just £2.5m in 2013.
Van Dijk is one of Celtic’s greatest bargain buys of all time, as he went on to make a £11.5m switch to Premier League outfit Southampton two years later.
He played under both Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila, as well as playing alongside former Celtic star Charlie Mulgrew in defence.
And Mulgrew has now delivered a shock revelation explaining what helped Celtic to sign Van Dijk.
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Mulgrew reveals Van Dijk ‘attitude’ question marks
Mulgrew was speaking on Open Goal’s latest KTBOTG+ podcast for paying subscribers, and was initially asked if he could pick an ex-teammate who was signed for very little but left for big money.
He instantly replied with Van Dijk, before Andy Halliday quizzed him on why the likes of Ajax and PSV did not pursue his signature.
Mulgrew: “Van Dijk for £2.5m.”
Halliday: “Is that all Van Dijk cost? £2.5m?”
Mulgrew: “£2.5m. He walked into the building, he just looked like a player. Then he was just unbelievable.”
Halliday: “How did Van Dijk play in Holland against Ajax and PSV and (not get signed?).”
Mulgrew: “Andy, do you know what it was about him, what his thing was? Because I remember John Park saying to me, ‘there’s just question marks over his attitude’, aye…
“So I don’t know what he was up to over there. He was really confident, but not to the point where you would say he was a d**k.”
John Park’s reservation with Van Dijk is intriguing
It’s interesting to hear that Celtic were able to beat off the competition to sign Van Dijk because others had concerns over his attitude.
How true the revelation is remains unknown, but it sounds as though John Park did have a reservation regarding Van Dijk.
Celtic thankfully went ahead with the deal, and Mulgrew notes that he didn’t see an issue with Van Dijk in that regard.
Van Dijk has gone on to be regarded as one of the greatest Premier League defenders in the history of the competition.
He has won two Premier League titles with Liverpool, as well as the Champions League in 2019 under Jurgen Klopp.
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