£5m may not be enough for Celtic to sign Reading defender Liam Moore – but Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool move could help finance the deal.
Celtic were fully aware that they had a real talent on their hands when they signed Virgil van Dijk from FC Groningen back in 2013 – so much so that they insisted on putting a 10 per cent buyout clause in the Dutch defender’s contract.
Four-and-a-half years on, Celtic could now be set to wallow in a substantial windfall.
The Daily Record report that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been given the green light to revive his interest in Van Dijk in January. Southampton value their talismanic centre-back at around £70 million – which would net Celtic around £6 million, three times more than they paid Groningen for his signature in the first-place.
And receiving such a financial boost from their former defender could give Celtic hope of enhancing their current backline in the New Year.
Freeing up funds
The Daily Record reported on Wednesday that Brendan Rodgers has made a new centre-back his top priority in January with Reading’s Liam Moore eyed up to bolster an injury-hit defence.
The 24-year-old won’t come cheap, however. The report stated that Celtic may be willing to offer £5 million, which would make Moore the fourth most expensive player in the club’s history and the most costly defender.
With Reading boss Jaap Stam insistent that Reading don’t want to sell their key players midway through the season, however, even £5 million might not be enough to convince The Royals to sell, per the Reading Chronicle.
Though Van Dijk’s potentially huge move to Liverpool may free up funds for Celtic to go all out for the former Leicester City defender, whose ball-playing abilities and natural pace appear to make him a perfect fit for Brendan Rodgers’ system.
Four years on, Van Dijk is the signing that just keeps on giving for Celtic.
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