Celtic ‘superstar’ Virgil van Dijk worth £8 million

Johan Mjallby says would-be buyers of Virgil van Dijk can start the bidding at £8-million this summer.

That’s the message from Celtic defensive mastermind Johan Mjallby, who claims the Dutchman is a “superstar” in the making.

“I will be surprised if Virgil doesn’t go on to play for one of the top, top teams in England or abroad,” said the Hoops assistant manager, who will himself move on at the end of the campaign.

“He is one of the best young centre halves I have ever seen. He has been just brilliant for us this season. If he keeps improving, he’s going to be a superstar.”

Mjallby will soon leave Celtic Park, satisfied he has played his part in a potential £20 million-plus going into the club’s coffers.

Having already announced he is to break up his partnership with Neil Lennon in the summer to pursue new opportunities, the Swede is seeing out the final few days of his contract as assistant manager. Mjallby admits he takes specific

pleasure too from helping individual players reach their potential, especially when doing so helps safeguard the financial future of the club.

“I’d say Victor Wanyama is a success story, getting him for peanuts and selling him on for £12.5 million to Southampton,” said the Swede.

“I also think Virgil van Dijk is going to be a success story, definitely. He is one of best young centre halves I have ever seen and if he keeps improving he is going to be a superstar.

“How much is he worth? Personally, I would say at least £8 million. Then you’ve got Fraser Forster, who we knew about but we didn’t know how good he would be. He has improved a lot.

“And, personally, I love Scott Brown to bits because he’s so important for this quite young group.

“He’s been here so many years and he’s playing his best football ever, at least for the four years I’ve been here. They are the ones who come to mind, but probably the main thing is we have improved most of the players. That’s something to feel good about.”

Although Mjallby admits a couple of this season’s Champions League results could have gone better, he will leave happy about what he has achieved.

His contribution as a player in Martin O’Neill’s side is well documented he made his debut in a famous 5-1 victory over Rangers after joining from AIK Stockholm in 1998 and helped the Hoops to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003 against Jose Mourinho’s Porto side, but it is the successes achieved in the dugout that have given him most satisfaction.

“I have enjoyed my days in the dugout more,” said the 43-year-old. “I think you get a better perception of things and when things go right you are more proud.

“When I came back I felt Celtic were conceding a lot of goals. Now this is a club where we don’t just have to win, we have to win in a certain way.

“We have to play with style and attack teams. Sometimes when you do that you are going to leave gaps defensively so there is a balance that has to be struck.

“We were put to the test in the Champions League and it’s good that in most games we were actually very good defensively. Bar last season the goals conceded figures are actually down. That is a real source of pride.”