Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin has claimed Manchester United and Chelsea opted against signing Virgil van Dijk from Celtic - because he “made too many mistakes”.
The Liverpool captain starred 115 times for the Hoops between 2013 and 2015 before moving to Southampton for a reported fee of around £13 million.
He won two Scottish Premiership titles and a Scottish League Cup during his spell in Glasgow’s East End and is now widely regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation.
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Despite Van Dijk’s success at Celtic, Nevin claims several English sides were reluctant to sign the Dutchman, now 33. Nevin told Grosvenor Sport: “When it comes to Premier League clubs being unsure over signing players from Scotland, I remember being told by Manchester United and Chelsea that Virgil van Dijk made too many mistakes – but that’s because he was bored.
“Can you imagine how different things might have been if David Moyes had signed Virgil van Dijk?
"He ended up at Southampton and then Liverpool but teams didn’t want to pay the £10million when he was at Celtic.
“Big money moves from Scotland to England are rare because teams are sceptical.”
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