Hoops legend Chris Sutton has admonished Celtic for selling Virgil Van Dijk on the cheap and said they should have held out for a better price. The Dutchman was sensational at Parkhead after joining for £2.6 million in 2013 and EPL clubs came knocking. Celtic eventually sold the big Dutchman to Southampton for £13 million, but now his value has soared. Celtic could soon find themselves in a similar situation with Moussa Dembele and they have been warned not to accept another low offer for their prize asset.
Since joining Southampton, Van Dijk has been made club captain and emerged as the most in-demand centre back in the country. His ability was clear for all Hoops fans to see, as he is a colossus at the back, tactically astute, excellent on the ball and really dangerous when attacking set pieces. Liverpool had bids in the region of £60 million rejected this summer and – after injury to John Stones threatened to derail their title bid – oil rich Man City are poised to join a bidding war in January for him.
A silver lining could be a sell-on clause. Celtic have never officially disclosed the amount, but it has been suggested they will be entitled to a cut of a Van Dijk’s next transfer fee. However, Sutton argued that they should have demanded far more money for their star central defender in 2015.
The club must be braced for bids to come flying in for Dembele in the not too distant future as he has enjoyed a magnificent spell in front of goal at Parkhead. He banged in 32 goals last season as Celtic went down in history as Invincibles.
The highlight was undoubtedly a derby day hat-trick against Sevo, but the 21-year-old Frenchman dazzled throughout the season with his electric pace, intelligent movement and razor sharp finishing ability.
It seems amazing that the Hoops managed to even sign Dembele in the first place as he was on fire at Fulham and big clubs were sniffing around. But he chose to move north of the border and has been a revelation. He probably would have gone in the summer, but he was injured, and Celtic have been blessed with his talents for a few more months at least. He is now back in the team and has already hit seven goals in 14 games, despite not being fully match fit. He has not just performed well in domestic fixtures, but has also excelled in the Champions League, delighting fans in particular with his acrobatic finish against Man City.
That will have drawn the attention of many big clubs, and earlier this month he hit a 12-minute hat-trick for France’s Under-21 side to inspire them to a 3-1 win over Slovenia. He has drawn praise from leading managers across Europe, and the legendary Zinedine Zidane said of Dembele: “I have played with the greatest strikers – Ronaldo, Henry, Raul. You knew on the biggest occasions they would win you games – and Dembele is already showing that. I do understand the biggest clubs in Europe are being linked with him and that will be his destination eventually. But my advice for now is ignore it all.”
Dembele declared himself flattered at the praise from his country’s greatest ever player, and he might find himself subject of a bid from Real some time soon. If you check Bookmaker, one of the best-reviewed sites, for the latest odds you will see that Barcelona are heavy favourites to win La Liga and Real are massive outsiders after a shaky start to the season. They did not get their chequebook out in the summer and they will surely have to rectify that in January or at least next summer. If they, or anyone else in Europe’s elite, come knocking, Celtic should follow Sutton’s advice and drive a hard bargain.