Deila says van Dijk wanted to leave last year

Celtic manager Ronny Deila was adamant that he wanted Virgil van Dijk to stay at Paradise, but earlier he spoke out about the sale of the Dutch defender.

Deila had hoped to keep the 24-year-old for another year at Paradise to develop his game and of course help Celtic. The Norwegian has now revealed that van Dijk wanted to leave as early as last season to pursue a new challenge.

Speaking to Sky Sports about the Dutch defender, Deila said:

Last year, I struggled hard to keep him, I wanted him to stay for another year, get the European experience for one more year and play regularly at a high level.

I knew as time went on that this was going to happen.

In his head he wanted to leave and said that he needed to leave and wanted a new challenge.

We could have got seven maybe eight million for him last year, but this year it was double figures.

He wanted the next step and once a player has that in his head, it is very hard to stop him.

Van Dijk made 76 appearances for the Hoops over a two-year stint at the club after his £2.6 million move from FC Groningen, scoring nine goals in his time at the club.

The Dutchman quickly became a fan favourite with his calm demeanour and style of play from the back.

His confidence with the ball at his feet should make him a huge success at Southampton after his deadline day move to the Premier League club for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £13 million.