MANCHESTER CITY and Arsenal are weighing up bids for £10million-rated Celtic centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Both clubs have sent scouts to monitor the impressive form of the Dutchman this season.
The Hoops signed van Dijk for just £1.6m from Groningen last summer and have put him on a long deal.
He is contracted to three more seasons with them, with an option for another year. The 22-year-old’s form has impressed Celtic manager Neil Lennon so much that he expects a call to come from Netherlands counterpart Louis van Gaal.
Lennon said: “It’s inevitable, if he keeps going and progressing the way he is, that he’ll become a Dutch international. He makes it look easy. People seem to think he has a laid-back attitude, but his work ethic is very high and he’s a kid who wants to get better.
“I’d like to think Virgil would get a chance with his country.”
Van Dijk has made 29 appearances for Celtic this season, scoring three goals.
But he fears he will miss out on his nation’s World Cup squad, and said: “I have never been invited so I think the chances are not so big for me.
“That’s unfortunate but I have to move on, keep playing good games and maybe, you never know, the chance will come.”
Team-mate Efe Ambrose, however, wants Celtic to sign players rather than let those of the calibre of van Dijk leave, writes Iain Macfarlane in Turkey.
Ambrose has urged Lennon to hit the January sales to maximise the club’s chances of cracking the Champions League.
The Nigerian reckons the cash-rich Hoops should bolster the squad this month with key signings – and at the same time slam the door shut on star players leaving.
Defender Ambrose was part of a new-look Hoops outfit which scraped through three qualifiers for this season’s Champions League.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football ... l-van-Dijk
