Old boss Ron hails the £75m ‘bargain’
RONNY DEILA insists Liverpool have got a bargain by paying £75 million for his former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk.
And the ex-Parkhead boss has blasted big English clubs for not having faith in the standard of Scottish football when there was first interest in the classy Dutch stopper.
Van Dijk became the world’s most expensive defender when the Anfield club splashed out the extraordinary sum for the 26-year-old.
And Delia – who sold the player to Southampton for £13m two years ago – reckons he may even go on to prove himself as a midfielder in future.
Delia said: “It’s a bargain. Even at that price. If you look at the money being spent today, there’s no doubt the price tag is fair.
“And big clubs must regret they didn’t sign him when he was at Celtic.
“Now he costs over five times what he did when he left Celtic. But the problem was they did not trust the level in Scotland.
“Not only is he really good, he is really young and has his best years ahead. That means he will be valuable for years to come. Actually, he can even become the world’s best midfielder.
“He has a huge physique, he’s super fast and he is good with the ball at his feet so he fits into Liverpool’s style of play. He is also powerful in the air.”
Meanwhile, Dutch club FC Groningen say they are waiting for confirmation from Celtic as to how much money they will receive as part of their sell-on clause for Van Dijk.
Groningen, Willem II and RKC Waalwijk are all expecting a percentage of the massive fee having had Van Dijk on their books.