Ronny Deila wants to make Virgil van Dijk a Champions League star.
The Celtic boss is resigned to Jason Denayer returning to Manchester City but doesn’t want to lose the other half of his central defensive partnership.
Finding two new centre-back’s to guide the side through three Champions League qualifying rounds would test Deila to the full with the future of van Dijk likely to dominate the summer headlines.
Van Dijk was expected to quit Celtic last summer, just a year after signing from Groningen, but stayed on despite strong interest from England.
A repeat is expected over the coming weeks but Deila believes that a run in the Champions League can help van Dijk earn a move to a top club.
“Denayer goes back to Man City and we have to look at what we do there, that is a challenge,” the Celtic boss admitted. “But there is more in it for us to get into the Champions League than to sell Virgil van Dijk.
“Virgil also needs a good Champions League campaign and if we get into the group stages he will get the challenges he is after.
“He is a very good player but still we can make him better. He should go to the biggest clubs in the league, not the small clubs in the biggest leagues with money.”
The draw for the second qualifying round of the Champions League will be made on June 22 with Celtic having to negotiate their way through three rounds to reach the lucrative group stage.
