"Chief scout said he was too slow" - Neil Warnock explains why Crystal Palace failed to sign Liverpool superstar for just £5 million
Former Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock has revealed that the club had the opportunity to sign Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in 2014.
The 73-year-old revealed this in an interview with the Mirror where he stated that the Eagles were monitoring the Netherlands international while he was still at Celtic.
However, an assessment by a scout described Van Dijk as being too slow, which caused Palace to pull the plug on a potential £5m bid.
Warnock said:
“The one that got away from me was Virgil van Dijk. I got offered him when I was at Crystal Palace for £5 million."
“But my chief scout said he was too slow, and he ended up at Southampton instead! It’s a shame because anything he may lack in pace, he makes up for 10-fold in his ability to read the game.”
Virgil van Dijk began his career at Dutch side Groningen before joining Celtic in 2013. He spent two years in the Scottish capital and made the move down south when he joined Southampton in 2015.
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Three years at St. Mary's saw his stock rise in the Premier League and Liverpool soon came calling with a club-record £75 million bid in December 2018. His move to Anfield saw him become the most expensive defender in history at the time but he has repaid every penny the Merseysiders paid to sign him.
Virgil van Dijk has gotten back to his best for Liverpool after his horrific injury
Virgil van Dijk's arrival at Anfield helped transform the club's fortunes. Prior to his arrival, Liverpool were known for their frail defense and this fragility at the back cost them in their quest to return to the summit of the game.
His intelligent positioning and reading of the game helped shore up the club's defense and has played an integral role in their recent success.
Virgil van Dijk's displays at the heart of the defense saw him named the PFA 'Player of the Year' in 2019. He was also named the UEFA Men's 'Player of the Year' and secured a runner-up finish in the Ballon d'Or that year.
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However, a horrific injury sustained in the Merseyside derby in October 2020 sidelined him for several months and threatened to derail his career.
The Netherlands international has since bounced back from the setback and is back to his best, culminating in him being named into the PFA 'Team of the Season' in 2022.