Thursday, March 28, 2024
SportEnglish footballEx-Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk 'has it all' as Everton join Manchester...

Ex-Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk ‘has it all’ as Everton join Manchester United, City & Liverpool in signature chase

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VIRGIL van Dijk has ‘got the lot’, according to Steve Claridge, as a posse of English Premier League giants get ready to fight it out for the former Celtic defender.

The Dutchman earned the Hoops £13 million when he joined Southampton last year and looks set to collect them another seven-figure sum after a string of eye-catching displays south of the border.

Everton boss Ronald Koeman is said to be ready to spend £40 million on the 25-year-old, which is welcome news for Celtic, who are reported to benefit from a 10 per cent sell-on clause.

(Pic: Brian Hargadon)
(Pic: Brian Hargadon)

Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool have all been linked with the powerful stopper, who was a £2.6 million buy for Celtic in 2013, and Claridge is not surprised.

The former Birmingham City, Leicester City and Portsmouth striker told the BBC: “He’s a fantastic figure. He has got everything.

“He can go and head a ball – in both boxes he’ll go and win the ball. He’s got pace, he can play; Southampton like to play out from the back and he can play.

“He reads the game, he’s fit, he’s very, very strong – no-one pushes him around.

“I don’t know what else you could want from a defender.

“When you’ve got big lads like him who go and attack the ball and go up against their centre-forward, but also have the pace to get back, I’m not really sure you’re searching for too many more attributes.

“He’s probably got the lot, actually.”

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