Arsenal Transfer Target Virgil Van Dijk Assessed

Dutch centre-back Virgil Van Dijk is being heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the January transfer window, per Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.  Latest reports from talkSPORT also indicate West Ham United have shown interest in Celtic’s prized asset.   

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour, speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT, said he could be the man to solve some of Arsene Wenger's ongoing defensive issues but who is Virgil Van Dijk?

Twenty-three-year-old Van Dijk is a technically gifted, composed central defender in his second season at Celtic Park.  A £2.6m signing from Dutch side Groningen in 2013, where he played with Southampton’s Dusan Tadic, he began his career with Willem II.  

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Van Dijk’s Celtic career did not get off to the best start.  He made his debut in a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of a Champions League play-off tie with Shakhter Karagandy.  However, he played his part in the 3-0 home turnaround, which booked Celtic’s place in the group stage.  The former Dutch under-21 international hasn’t looked back since. 

He was a standout performer as the Hoops went on to walk the Scottish Premiership last season.  Despite finishing bottom of their Champions League section, Van Dijk won praise for some classy displays.

Effortlessly cool with the ball at his feet, Van Dijk also has an eye for goal.  His sensational run and finish from his own half in a league game at St. Johnstone was one of the goals of the season.  He also possesses a set-piece threat, not just in the air but also from a dead ball, as he displayed against Hibernian.  

Former Arsenal and Dutch icon Giovanni van Bronckhorst has also endorsed Van Dijk in glowing terms.  The former Rangers player van Bronckhorst felt, as he told the Daily Record, that Van Dijk could be "the best central defender in Europe in the next few years."

Van Dijk narrowly missed out on Netherland’s World Cup squad but with recent call-ups for their opening European Championship qualifiers it seems a matter of time before he makes his breakthrough at that level.

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So far this season he has formed a good partnership in defense with Belgium youngster Jason Denayer.  Despite Celtic’s indifferent start to the season he still looks very much a class apart in the Scottish Premiership. He also recently added some top beatboxing skills to his CV, as he demonstrated with team-mate John Guidetti.   

It seems inevitable that he will join Victor Wanyama, Ki Sung Yeung and Fraser Forster in being the latest export from Glasgow to join the Premier League.  However, he is only in the second year of a long-term contract so Celtic will demand a premium price for their star man. 

Whether it is Arsenal or another club, there is no doubt Van Dijk has all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.