Former Celtic coach John Collins has revealed the reason Arsenal turned down the transfer of Virgil van Dijk while he was in Scotland.
The Netherlands international, now with Liverpool following his record-breaking move from Southampton in January, was catching the eye with Celtic and could have been snapped up for a bargain fee.
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In the video below, Collins tells beIN Sports that Arsenal were unsure about paying £12million for the player at the time as he seemed a little too ‘nonchalant’.
In fairness, Van Dijk is a pretty smooth performer, rather than the kind of centre-back who rushes around and flies into tackles.
The inside story on how @Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Virgil van Dijk from @CelticFC. #beINPL #LFC #AFC #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/VPJZa84kuQ
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 22, 2018
Then again, the Reds star is also one of the best in the world in his position, and has proven a hugely important signing to help Jurgen Klopp’s side tighten up at the back and become genuine title contenders.
It is also worth noting that Collins explains Liverpool were also offered the chance to sign Van Dijk on the cheap while he was at Celtic but also didn’t follow their interest up.