Prior to joining Celtic, the 32-year-old played for Groningen. It was during his tenure with the Glasgow giants that Premier League teams first took an interest in van Dijk, with Southampton emerging victorious in the chase for his services.
Although there were some questions at the time about Liverpool spending £75 million to get van Dijk, he has more than earned that money in the last six years thanks to his stellar play on the south coast.
The Dutchman’s success at the club level throughout his tenure at Livepool has solidified his place among the best in the business.
West Brom will be saddened by Virgil van Dijk’s departure.
Financially speaking, Southampton emerged victorious from van Dijk’s career, having acquired him for approximately £13 million, only to sell him for over five times that amount two and a half years later.
However, it’s been discovered that Albion was well aware of the quality of the Celtic centre back at the time, so that might have easily been West Brom.
Van Dijk’s name was submitted by The Hawthorns’ recruitment team, as former manager Tony Pulis has acknowledged.
In addition, former scout Stuart Millar disclosed that he had seen the defender play for West Brom about 20 times, and that the player’s decision to leave was influenced by their unwillingness to pursue a trade.
It’s unknown why Albion didn’t go after van Dijk, but even if Celtic earned a substantial money at the time, the £13 million fee shouldn’t have been out of their budget.
The perception that many people in this country have of Scottish football may perhaps have played a role, but van Dijk was actually playing for a major team in Celtic, and he was putting on excellent performances.
West Brom’s situation might have been different.
If van Dijk had arrived, Albion might have missed out on a potentially enormous sale and faced a very different future.
In 2018, van Dijk’s third season in English football, the squad was relegated, and it’s difficult to believe a team without him in the defensive would have failed.
Additionally, Albion may have been able to play with a higher line if they had a player of his ability in defence.
Naturally, a significant sale would have provided Albion with additional money to put in the team, but Southampton’s difficulties years later demonstrate that nothing is certain.
There are undoubtedly more excellent players that Albion has lost out on, and clubs all around the nation will have tales of near misses.
However, West Brom’s decision to pass on signing van Dijk may be seen as expensive, and their dismal recent record would have been different had they pressed to bring him to The Hawthorns.
