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Virgil van Dijk

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Celtic''s centre-half is supposedly AN''s No.1 target this summer, according to a Scotish paper.....

Is he any good?

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He is good, very good.

Would cost around £8m - £10m though - would be a big investment for Norwich but definitely worth it.

Lots of Premier League interest in him though, pull this off and McNally proves his genius yet again.

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I''m convinced. Know nothing about the player, but I''m convinced.

If it''s £8-10m then have we a part-exchange to throw into the equation?

No, not Gary Hooper.

Michael Turner might fit the bill, but only money, which wouldn''t likely be on offer, would lure him up there, IMO.

Andreu?

Whittaker? As a Scottish international he should have some value for the SPL. Useful here, but not vital.

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This would be an amazing signing. I watch a lot of Celtic and normally I wouldn''t be that enamoured by us being linked with their players, but the gulf in class is less relevant for a defender performing well in the SPL as it is an attacking player. Yes he is playing against slower and lower quality players, but he has all the attributes of a centre-half who could play at any level. Tall, strong, intelligent and quick for a defender.

It would be a major coup if we get him. There were whispers of Man Utd sniffing around in the middle of the season. I can''t see it happening to be honest.

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"Any large investment in a player with van in his surname makes me nervous!"

Along with the obvious reference to that thing between our legs.

It''s the Dutch thing you know. They are awful, but I like them.

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Yes, yes and double yes! If we tie up him and yedlin, that''s the defence sorted vvd can cover lb if needed as well.

Which paper was it?

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I suspect the story (that we want him) is true, but I notice he has not yet played for the Dutch national team, and wasn''t even in the squad for their latest Euro qualifying game. Is this because the manager wants to see him in a more demanding league first, or are the Dutch overloaded with good centre-backs?

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Yes, I have said it multiple times, Van Dijk would be an excellent signing for us if we got him at a sensible price. Hes a quality young player who would fit into our squad.He has been in the SPL team of season twice on the bounce too. Other teams are chasing him however, we might lose out on him to another PL team.

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8 mill is a lot of money, but this guy would be a fantastic signing. He is young, still only 23, quick, tall, strong, and has an aura of calmness about him.

Destined for big things, I think.

Even at 8 mill we would be able to make a profit on him when/if he is sold on, as he has all the abilities to become a top defender.

If this happens I would be very impressed indeed, but I suspect that bigger teams than us would come calling for this guy.

Also, if Alex is made to wait until late in preseason before a decision is made, he may look elsewhere.

I have a feeling Alex would want his transfer dealing done rather early in order to "gel" the team before the opening of the season.

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[quote user="BroadstairsR"] Whittaker? As a Scottish international he should have some value for the SPL. Useful here, but not vital.[/quote]I don''t think Whittaker deserves to be a make weight in this transfer and you''re forgetting that he came to us from Rangers so it''s very unlikely that Celtic will want him.

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God I hope this is true. Personally I''ve said we need a marquee signing, and this would be it. This is the first rumour I''ve been truly excited about about. Mulumbo seems a smart move as competition for Tettey as well as other midfielders. Yedlin is fast and great going forwards, but defensively probably not as good as Whits which is saying something.

AN knows him well (in terms of attributes) having managed in the Scottish leagues so he knows exactly what he wants & needs for this team (if this is true).

£8-9m is exactly the sort of money we should be aspiring to pay for a marquee signing, however, if this is true, it might not be the only one.

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As for part-exchanges, Celtic have a policy of not signing out field players over the age of 26. They won''t be wanting players like Turner, Whittaker and probably even Gary Hooper.

Celtic look to sign relatively unknown players and sell them on for an increased value, and they are very good at it. I think van Djik will be sold this summer, but there is talk up to 8 Premier League clubs are looking at him. Whether they are all interested enough to sign him, and whether he is a high enough priority to spend close to £10m on is another matter.

Southampton, Norwich and Sunderland appear to be the most interested parties - although I wonder if the other two are chucked in there due to their dutch managers. Southampton have made Alderwierld their priority signing, so van Djik might just be "Plan B"

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"I don''t think Whittaker deserves to be a make weight in this transfer and you''re forgetting that he came to us from Rangers so it''s very unlikely that Celtic will want him."

 

Fair enough, but Whitts. is thirty-one now and might like the idea of finishing his days in Scotland, especially as he is likely to be just back-up here from now on.

 

I hadn''t thought of the Old Firm link, but I should think that he would be rather more favourably looked upon at Celtic than at Rangers, who he left amidst controversy. As I said, he has international credentials.

 

He wouldn''t be the first to cross that great divide.

 

At the end of the day wages would likely be the decider, as he would probably get more as a member of a PL squad than an SPL team. He hasn''t paid off all the instalments on his hair transfer yet, after all.

 

Stephen Whittaker owes our club nothing. We would owe him if a swap deal of some sort could come about.

 

 

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"As for part-exchanges, Celtic have a policy of not signing out field players over the age of 26. They won''t be wanting players like Turner, Whittaker and probably even Gary Hooper."

 

Kris Commons?

 

In any case a deal involving Whittaker is a bit pie in the sky. Gary Hooper, may be not.                   

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Some quotes from the TalkCeltic forum since 2014

Page 75

"Everyone saying they can see him in the BPL but I think if he keeps it up Barca will come knocking, they love a centre half that can play and their defence department is the only one needing to be worked on."

"For awhile, I thought Forster could maybe shatter Wanyama''s Celtic/Scottish transfer fee record.

Now, I think it''ll be this guy.

£15 million+, maybe?

Thoughts?"

"Looks like he doesn''t give a fuck when he''s playing. Mainly because he doesn''t have to give a fuck to still be several levels above everyone else on the pitch.

I reckon he could play in any outfield position with ease. The way he played little one twos with Ledley, nutmegged the Hibs players, stopovers... it''s very easy to forget he''s actually a CB.

Terrific player."

"Not read through the thread, but for fuck sake. The best centre half i''ve seen in my time.

Has it all, I remember seeing him in a game ( for some reason i think it was a friendly of some sort) ... He hit a free kick, about 5 yards over the bar, but it was the technique that struck me, it was ronaldoesque, And I''ve said since then to my mates at the games i want him to hit it..... and today i said the same.... and by fuck did he prove me right... what a strike.

The coolest. calmesst, best centre half i;ve seen at Celtic"

Page 151 (latest page)

"He''s not going to Norwich FFS. :D

If the Sun isn''t making it up, it only means Norwich have blinked first. I''d like to see him at a club like Arsenal but it''s probably too early for him; but for sure he can at least join a Southampton or a Spurs.

Norwich for £8 million. :) "

----

So basically he''s calm on the ball, has an eye for a pass, is quick, can score a few goals. The celtic fans are mocking our interest in him because they think he''s too good for us, however, they also said this about Hooper funnily enough. This would be our biggest signing for sure, but personally I''m not sure if it will happen.

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Wouldn''t be surprised if bid went up to 10 million. Wouldn''t care either. He''s young, can take free kicks, super tall and a rock. Spurs haven''t expressed any interest, Arsenal were rumoured to, but are more likely to track players like Howedes, or someone of that quality and experience. Bar M and Y (who I don''t think will be revealed until the kit release), I would be fine with this being our only £8+ million signing. Pursue until deadline day!

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Would be a fantastic signing, a superb stylish cb, wow, if we can we should pull out all the stops to get him, can''t see Whitts being part of any deal with Celtic, only 2 clubs for him up there Rangers being favourite, but he always wanted to play for his boyhood team Hearts, so i guess a couple of seasons there may attract him back north.

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Early next week...apparently *rolls eyes at another article*

https://www.the-newshub.com/football/norwich-city-all-set-to-announce-double-signing-as-premier-league-plans-come-together

"The Canaries Premier League plans seem to be coming together with a double signing likely to be confirmed early next week. The two players in question of Youssouf Mulumbu and DeAndre Yedlin seem to make a lot of sense both from a positional and financial point of view.

In terms of the types of deal, Mulumbu will likely join on a free transfer after being released by West Brom and Spurs full-back is likely to join on a season-long loan deal. The American international defender will provide strong competition for Steven Whittaker at right-back. This may also suggest that Alex Neil sees Russell Martin as a central defender now.

Of course, some people might point to the fact that these are essentially cheap deals and what you spend in the Premier League does count. In fact, teams that rely on free transfers and loan deals typically struggle towards the bottom of the table.

However, I don’t think that’s what is happening here. Let’s say that Norwich are targeting seven or eight new players, well the budget simply isn’t going to stretch to acquiring them all for top dollar. So the prospective signings will have to be a mixture of free transfers, loan deals, bargain buys and one or two that might push the boat out that bit further.

The Canaries have already added Graham Dorrans to their squad this summer, and if these next two deals come off things will certainly be coming together. At which point, Alex Neil may feel he wants to turn his attention to those one or two more significant signings.

In terms of Mulumbu is strong defensive midfield unit that will be the ideal man to provide competition to Alex Tettey, especially since he has that all-important Premier League experience. I have always held the belief that ideally you want to get your squad together in time for pre-season, so it’s impressive to see Norwich City getting on with it in that regard."

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[quote user="Felixfan"]Players of this calibre will not choose Norwich even if we could afford him.[/quote]

That''s the spirit are we related?

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