Arsenal have been linked with the Celtic defender Virgil Van Dijk since the end of the summer transfer window and it looked odds on that he would be moving to the Emirates in January, but it seems that Arsene Wenger is playing it cool so far.
It has been rumoured that Celtic are holding out for £10million before letting the Dutchman move to the Premier League, but the player himself has now basically issued a come-and-get-me plea to the Gunners. “It’s [Van Dijk’s time at Celtic] gone awfully quickly,” he was quoted as saying in De Telegraaf.
“I have recently been thinking a bit about it [his career]. I am now 23 and have played at Willem II, FC Groningen and Celtic and am now linked to clubs like Arsenal. Isn’t that great?
“There are a lot of clubs interested, but Celtic is holding on to a big transfer fee. The club is clear: they don’t want to let me go in the winter, because we’re playing for four trophies.
“I understand the point of view from the club and I see it as a compliment that they don’t want to let me go. But we have to be realistic. If there’s a nice club from England, we have to talk. I want to develop myself as a player, that’s for sure.”
With half the transfer window gone already, Wenger really needs to start making moves for the two (at least!) players we need or we will end up disappointed yet again come the final day of January. Now both Sissolo and Van Dijk have expressed the desire to join us, I would be quite happy if Wenger just went ahead and paid the asking price for both of them.
Who agrees?