STICK WITH US
Lawwell tells van Dijk to stay at Celtic for now
CELTIC chief executive Peter Lawwell has told star defender Virgil van Dijk that he should stay with the Parkhead club for another season before making his next big career move.
A resounding success since moving from Groningen for £2.5million last summer, the Dutch ace has inevitably been linked with a move to the English Premier League and his agent, HenkMaarten Chin, has already stated he is actively looking to move on his client this summer.
Goalkeeper Fraser Forster is expected to be the subject of bids after the conclusion of England’s World Cup campaign in Brazil, but Lawwell insists there have been no enquiries for van Dijk.
He maintains Celtic — who, it can be revealed, have discussed adding Scotland Under-21 boss Billy Stark to their coaching set-up — have no desire to sell and claims the player would benefit from a season under new manager Ronny Deila.
‘My view is that one year is far too early for him,’ said Lawwell. ‘He needs another year in the Champions League.
‘I’ve spoken to Virgil’s agent. We don’t want to sell him. We have a manager who I think will make him — and all our players — better.
‘If I was his advisor, I would be saying: “Forget this year, let’s stay and develop”. ’
Lawwell does not wish Deila, who has been informed there is cash to spend on new targets, to enter the Champions League qualifiers minus Celtic’s two prize assets but acknowledges he won’t be able to keep Forster and van Dijk from the riches on offer in England indefinitely.
‘We don’t want anyone to go,’ said Lawwell. ‘If things develop, we want to hold onto them as long as possible, which would be to the end of the qualifiers.
‘I wouldn’t have thought anything will happen with Fraser until he is back from the World Cup.’
As for the Celtic backroom staff, John Collins is weighing up the chance to join Deila’s team as assistant. In addition, the club are keen to have an even more senior Scottish football figure on board. That idea has brought Stark’s name into the equation.
He played for Celtic between 1987 and 1990 and served under Tommy Burns as assistant manager.
Deila has other names to consider before pre-season training begins in three weeks.