Neil Lennon reveals how Celtic signed 'unbelievable' Virgil van Dijk | OneFootball

Neil Lennon admits he was surprised to face such little competition for the signature of Virgil van Dijk back in 2013.

Lennon brought Van Dijk to Celtic from FC Groningen as a 21-year-old, completing a deal for just €2m.

The 27-year-old has since enjoyed a considerable rise, moving from Celtic to Southampton and then to Liverpool for €80m in 2017 – a world-record fee for a defender.

“Virgil was outstanding,” he told Soccer AM. “When the recruitment team showed me videos of him, I thought ‘he could be next the Rio Ferdinand’.

“I thought there must be something wrong with him, because when I went watch him play against Ajax, I was looking around thinking: ‘why are there no scouts here?’.

“I knew we had to get the deal done quickly. We ended up getting him for €2m. From the first day in training he was unbelievable. He had everything.

“I said to him on the first day: ‘enjoy yourself here, son, you won’t be here long’. It amazed me he was in Scotland for so long.

“Southampton were smart to get him but it amazed me none of the other big clubs came in as he could have played for Real Madrid or Barcelona.”

Van Dijk is likely to start for Liverpool against Manchester United on Sunday, after missing out against Bayern Munich due to suspension.