Former Celtic manager Ronny Delia has revealed that he told Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk that he should not go to Sunderland or Southampton because he had the potential to play for bigger clubs.
Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in the world when he signed for Liverpool for a club record £75m fee in January and has quickly established himself as a central figure at Anfield.
The Dutchman helped Liverpool to the Champions League final in May and has continued his stellar showing so far during the 2018/19 campaign for the Merseyside giants.
The 27-year-old made the switch to England with Southampton after an impressive few seasons with Celtic and has quickly fast-tracked his development to the highest level for both club and country.
Delia, who was in charge at Parkhead during Van Dijk’s final season with the Bhoys, revealed that he told the defender that he deserved to play for a bigger club despite the concrete interest from Sunderland and Southampton back then.
The former Hoops manager admitted that Van Dijk did not listen to his advice, but insisted that he is truly living up to his potential at Liverpool.
"He wanted to go away, he wanted to make the next step and I was very hard on him", Delia told A Celtic State of Mind podcast.
"I said ‘you shouldn’t go to Sunderland, Southampton or whatever, you should go to the biggest club because you have the potential to be there.’
"But he didn’t believe me at the time.
"But one year in Southampton and he was already there.
“He can maybe be the best central defender in the world.
"You can see the potential he has”, he concluded.
Van Dijk has helped Liverpool become the joint-best defence in the Premier League after conceding just three goals from their nine games so far this season.
