Virgil Van Dijk

Status
Not open for further replies.

Silverman

Full Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2013
Messages
6,538
Pat Nevin has identified this guy as someone who can sort out our CB problems.

He is young and talented but I haven't seen a lot of him.#

Any opinions?
 
I haven't seen much of him at all but I don't think another young defender is what we need. Fair enough if they were supremely talented with bucket loads of potential, however, I'd rather have someone much more experienced to sort our current problems even if they're not necessarily regarded as top drawer.
 
Would prefer Vlaar as he's Premier League proven. Would van Dijk be an improvement on our current options? I don't think so.
 
Van Dijk would be a good signing for a club along the lines of Southampton, Not good enough for us IMO, We need to invest in the Central defence like we have the forward line this Summer by getting in a proven quality World Class player or 2, If we really have to go by the 'stop gap' route until Summer then I would rather buy someone like Vlaar who can play in a Van Gaal system
 
I'd take him in as part of the squad, but he isn't the immediate answer. He's only young though and will develop further.
 
I have liked the look of him at Celtic; he's big, powerful, has pace and is good on the ball.
 
hundred_trillion said:
If we are going to buy a defender we might as well buy someone who will actually improve us. Van Dijk doesn't fit the bill.
Click to expand...
Agreed. We need the DiMaria of Centre Backs, not another youngster that is still developing.
Sadly not many around at the moment.
 
LvG didn't take him to the WC over the likes of Indi, Kongolo etc... Why would he sign him now? Oh, and he isn't good enough. Forgot that part.
 
I was wondering how long someone would take to make this connection. I'd rather see him play somewhere else first, rather than coming directly from Scotland
 
He's very big and slow. He's alright. Not United quality from the 4 games I've seen (as if that's enough to judge a player).
 
He seems highly rated, heard his name linked with Prem moves all summer, which in itself says a lot for a Celtic player. I always assumed that as national team manager, if Van Gaal didn't consider him for his county, I doubt he'd think he was good enough for United.

I'd prefer Concrete frankly.
 
I remember similar clamour for Emilio Izaguirre. Not really all that relevant but an example of a once highly-rated player in Scotland failing to improve upon the initial hype.
 
I wouldn't particularly want us to sign him but he does look a good player. I think he's in the Holland reckoning since LvG left.
 
He has been playing along side Man City loanee Jason Denayer (who looks a really good prospect himself) and they have been doing very well by all accounts.

Personally though, I dont think we should be signing a non-world class CB from outside the PL. ie I would prefer us to sign someone like a Vlaar, where we know what we are getting, than take a risk on a player from a different league - unless that player is indisputably world class.
 
Not too sure, looks decent but isn't a long term solution, he is young still and would make a good squad player I think.
 
Van Dijk does seem to be a standout player for Celtic, similar to how Wanyama stood out a mile as well. Wanyama has done very well in the Premier League to be fair to him.

It's always a bit of a lottery buying from a few levels below, and it will always bring mixed results. I think he looks very good, and certainly too good for the SPL, but it's hard to tell if he's good enough for a much bigger club.

11 goals in a season and a half, from centre back, seems impressive.
 
Impressive player, but you guys are right, the move to a top club in the premier league can be a gamble. Could easily see him become a january target for a premier league club though.
 
I would like him in the premier league but just not at United (yet). I saw him play for Groningen many times and i still think Ajax or PSV should have picked him up instead of Celtic.

Van Gaal never invited him for the NT and Hiddink did but never let him play a minute while our defense is quite horrible after van Gaal and his 5-3-2 left.
 
Seen a bit of Celtic this season to keep track of how Stefan Johansen and Ronny Deila are doing - and he is by far their most impressive player. He would certainly improve us in the air - he is exceptionally good in the air.

Good enough for us - he could be. Good enough for most sides in the P.L - Yup!
 
Must be incredibly hard to judge a defender's quality in the SPL though, especially one playing for Celtic. The toughest opponent they'll play against would most likely struggle to even make any Premier League team's bench.
 
Walrus said:
He has been playing along side Man City loanee Jason Denayer (who looks a really good prospect himself) and they have been doing very well by all accounts.

Personally though, I dont think we should be signing a non-world class CB from outside the PL. ie I would prefer us to sign someone like a Vlaar, where we know what we are getting, than take a risk on a player from a different league - unless that player is indisputably world class.
Click to expand...

All bias aside, van Dijk is comfortably a better player and defender than Vlaar.

I know it's always hard to judge how good someone is in Scotland but sometimes there's just a player you know is great despite the opposition like Larsson. Virgil falls into that category. His technique is fantastic and he'd improve enormously down south playing with better players and coaches. I'd love to keep him but he deserves a move to a big team in England.
 
Pink Moon said:
All bias aside, van Dijk is comfortably a better player and defender than Vlaar.

I know it's always hard to judge how good someone is in Scotland but sometimes there's just a player you know is great despite the opposition like Larsson. Virgil falls into that category. His technique is fantastic and he'd improve enormously down south playing with better players and coaches. I'd love to keep him but he deserves a move to a big team in England.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen enough to judge , more just the principle that we need PL experience or a guaranteed no-risk player.
 
I know he recently extended his contract but with Koeman being linked with Everton, we should be in for this guy. Smalling and Van Dijk partnership would be awesome, two 6"4 beasts.
 
wiz4231 said:
I know he recently extended his contract but with Koeman being linked with Everton, we should be in for this guy. Smalling and Van Dijk partnership would be awesome, two 6"4 beasts.
Click to expand...

Statistically ranked as one of the best CBs in europe this season too, how do you quantify it though? do you go off just one or two seasons or do you need more than that?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.