Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has explained the reasons why he did not sign Southampton’s star defender Virgil Van Dijk from Celtic when they were presented with the opportunity to do so.
Van Dijk has impressed for Southampton since moving to England from Celtic with his imposing performances at the heart of the Soton defense and he is currently considered one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.
These solid performances have attracted the attention of many top teams like Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, who are all currently looking to sign the defender.
While the aforementioned teams are seeking for the opportunity to sign the coveted van Dijk for reportedly around £70million, Newcastle United had a chance to sign the Dutchman in past for the fraction of the price but they decided to pass on the opportunity.
In a recent interview, then Magpies manager Alan Pardew has revealed about the approach from Newcastle to sign van Dijk but stated that he was turned off by Celtic’s asking price of £13 million.
