Former Crystal Palace boss, Neil Warnock, recounted a captivating tale about a missed opportunity to secure Virgil van Dijk from Celtic for a mere £3 million, long before the Dutch ace’s impressive stint at Liverpool.
During a chat on the “No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast,” Warnock reminisced about trying to bring Van Dijk to Selhurst Park in 2014, a year before the defender left Celtic for Southampton.
At that time, Van Dijk was turning heads in Scotland with impressive displays for Celtic, having joined the squad in 2013. Warnock, impressed by the Dutchman’s skills, dispatched a scout to assess his suitability for Crystal Palace.
The scout’s report was glowing, indicating that Van Dijk would be a valuable asset to the team. Excited by this prospect, Warnock approached the club’s chairman, Steve Parish, hoping to secure the defender for the bargain price of £3 million. Although Warnock was enthusiastic about the move, the club’s analytics team ultimately shot down the idea.
Warnock recalled, “Van Dijk was at Celtic and I almost signed him for Crystal Palace for £3 million. I sent someone to watch him play and he came back saying, ‘he is exactly what we need!’
“I convinced Steve Parish, along with the stats man, that I wanted to sign Van Dijk for three million pounds. However, the stats man doubted his pace for the Premier League.
“I tried to explain that his game intelligence made up for any perceived lack of speed. I told them that if pushed in the Premier League, he would rise to the challenge.
“Unfortunately, the deal did not go through, and Southampton snapped him up for four or five million, later selling him to Liverpool for over 70 million.”
Despite the setback, Van Dijk’s career soared at Southampton, earning him a high-profile transfer to Liverpool, where he has established himself as one of the world’s top defenders, aiding in the team’s conquest of numerous major trophies.
Warnock comically recounted a later encounter with Van Dijk after the defender had joined Liverpool. “I remember when we faced Liverpool next, Van Dijk approached me and said, ‘you almost signed me!’ – he was well aware of the missed opportunity. I joked with him about the doubts over his pace, and then promptly ran away from him!”
