Former Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley has not been surprised by the success Virgil Van Dijk has had in England.
Van Dijk was recently named as England’s player of the year, and Ledley has disclosed that he could tell that the player was going to be a success from his time spent in Glasgow.
“Could see straight away”
“We could see straight away from when he signed at Celtic how good he was” he told the Sun.
“He was so calm and had everything. He could hit shots, win headers, he’s strong, quick and you could see back then how good of a player he was going to be.”
Superb in short time at Celtic
Van Dijk only spent two full seasons in Glasgow, but he was superb for the Hoops in that time. He helped Celtic win two league titles, before moving to Southampton.
The big hope for Celtic is that more players follow in Van Dijk’s footsteps. They play in Glasgow for a few years. They then earn a big money move to England or abroad, and Celtic get the profit.
Arguably it has happened once since Van Dijk’s time at Celtic, with Moussa Dembele’s move to Lyon.
When Van Dijk’s career ends, Celtic fans will wonder how the club managed to get such a successful player to the club. It was good scouting, and it is a tactic Celtic must look to replicate.
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