CHOICESTORYFORVIRGIL

THE Virgil van Dijk situation is going to be the story that doesn’t go away this summer.

While Celtic are adamant the defender is not for sale, a problem can arise if the boy himself has his heart set on playing elsewhere.

However, with Ronny Deila already stating that he will be there throughout the qualifying games, it could be that if Celtic do make it into the group stage of the tournament that Van Dijk himself decides that there is something significant on offer in Glasgow.

As Deila player himself has pointed out, a season playing in the Champions League could entice some of the big guns down south to take notice of him.

I also feel that while he has been impressive since signing for Celtic, there are still aspects to his game that he could improve upon.

Essentially, though, the bottom line is that there are an awful lot of ifs and buts.

In an ideal world Celtic would keep the player until they had successfully navigated the qualifying rounds before selling him, but still having ample time to find a replacement.

The problem is, however, that football is not always as neat as that – especially when it comes to bringing in players in the latter stages of the transfer window. Much will depend on who comes in for the player and when.

Celtic will want him to stay because they have already lost Jason Denayer after the teenager returned to Manchester City, but it remains to be seen just how tempted the defender is by what is put on the table this summer.