Chris Sutton Claims Rival PL Sides 'Will Be Kicking Themselves' for Failing to Sign Virgil van Dijk

BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton says that Liverpool's Premier League rivals "will be kicking themselves" for overlooking Virgil van Dijk during his time at Celtic.

Van Dijk turned in a commanding man of the match display as Liverpool won 2-0 at Crystal Palace on Monday night to continue their winning start to the season.

Sutton claims that bigger Premier League clubs should have taken an interest in Van Dijk when he was playing in the Scottish Premiership, but overlooked him because of how Scottish football is perceived south of the border.

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"The sides who looked at Van Dijk and rejected him were not judging the player but the league he played in," claimed Sutton in his Daily Mail column. 

"Van Dijk was not the finished article at Celtic. He sometimes had a tendency to coast in games and could not always keep concentration for the whole 90 minutes.

"He has always played with a confident strut but that does not mean he is lazy. He is a graceful player who oozes class. Since arriving at Anfield in January, he has transformed Liverpool’s defensive unit beyond recognition.

“Liverpool’s Premier League rivals who had a chance to sign him from Celtic will be kicking themselves for not taking him seriously.”

The Dutch defender joined the Scottish champions from Groningen for a paltry £2.6m in 2013, and quickly established himself as the best centre back in the Scottish Premiership, winning two league titles with the Bhoys.

Van Dijk made the switch to the Premier League when he signed for Southampton in 2015 at a price of £13m. They made a £62m profit when the Dutchman moved to Anfield in January of this year.

So far he is proving to be value for money, helping Liverpool to the Champions League final last season and starting this campaign with two clean sheets.