Signed for £2.6m: Celtic hit the jackpot on 6 ft 5 star whose value soared by 400%.

Signed for £2.6m: Celtic hit the jackpot on 6 ft 5 star whose value soared by 400%.

The Hoops struck gold with the £2.6m signing of the towering central defender.

During the January transfer window, Celtic managed to keep all of its star players without losing any of them to teams willing to pay hefty fees.

The Hoops let David Turnbull, who was unable to establish himself as a consistent starter, sign a permanent contract with Cardiff, while Mikey Johnston, Marco Tilio, and Hyeok-kyu Kwon were sent out on loan.

As evidenced by the recent purchases and subsequent sales of players like Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Odsonne Edouard, Jota, and Kristoffer Ajer for higher prices, Celtic have a long history of cultivating and profiting from potential.
Virgil van Dijk, the current captain of Liverpool and the Netherlands, is another outstanding example of their incredible job in the transfer market, and the Hoops struck gold with him.

 

How much Celtic paid for Virgil van Dijk

In the summer of 2013, Neil Lennon moved quickly to broker a deal to buy the 21-year-old central defender for a reputed £2.6 million from Dutch team Groningen.

With 47 appearances in all competitions during the 2013–14 season—36 in the Scottish Premiership and six in the Champions League—the 6’5” colossus quickly cemented himself as a regular starter for the Northern Irish manager.

The next season, Van Dijk participated in an incredible 58 games in all competitions for the Hoops, contributing an impressive 10 goals and eight assists as a center-back.

His performances for Celtic throughout those two seasons, together with 10 appearances at the beginning of the 2015–16 campaign, sparked attention in the summer of 2015 from teams south of the border.

How much Celtic sold Virgil van Dijk for

To strengthen the defensive options of then-boss Ronald Koeman, Premier League team Southampton emerged victorious in the fight to sign the Dutch behemoth, reportedly for a sum of £13 million.

This meant that, just two years after paying Groningen £2.6 million to recruit him, the Glasgow giants had made 400% of their money back. In 2015, the Saints paid an additional £10.4 million for his services.

Therefore, Lennon struck gold when he signed the tall center-back for Celtic in 2013, as he not only produced excellent play on the field but also brought in a sizable number of money for the team in the future.

Now, Brendan Rodgers must be scoping out potential summer transfer targets in the hopes of finding the next Van Dijk, who may bring the club millions of dollars in future years.

Virgil van Dijk transfer history
Transfer	Year	Fee
Willem II to Groningen	2010	£0
Groningen to Celtic	2013	£2.6m
Celtic to Southampton	2015	£13m
Southampton to Liverpool	2018	£75m
Valuations via BBC and Sky Sports

 

The formidable defender afterwards joined Premier League powerhouse Liverpool for an incredible £75 million, as the table above illustrates, meaning that the Saints also made a sizable profit on him.

Since moving to Anfield in January 2018, the 32-year-old star has made 256 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, and he has already won the Premier League and the Champions League once each.

Given his age and the amount they paid for him, it seems unlikely that Liverpool will be able to sell him for a profit to continue the trend, but they have been rewarded with more than 200 games and several big championships won.

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