Lennon believes Jullien has similar attributes to Virgil van Dijk

Neil Lennon has compared Christopher Jullien to Virgil van Dijk, suggesting the former has “similar attributes” to the latter, and that is a big boost for Celtic. 

According to BBC Sport, Lennon praised the impact Jullien has had since his summer arrival and he believes that the Frenchman must look at Van Dijk’s achievements as a target for his own career.

Virgil is the benchmark. At [Jullien’s] age, he has his best years in front of him. Since he has settled, he has been absolutely outstanding with similar attributes to Virgil.

He has to look at that and say ‘how close can I get to that?’ and there is no doubt he can improve and take his game on and there is that willingness from him to do so. His professionalism is fantastic and his attitude since he came through the door has been brilliant.

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Lennon’s comments comparing Jullien to Van Dijk are certainly a big boost for Celtic, given how the Liverpool man is widely regarded as the best central defender in world football.

Jullien has been hugely impressive since his summer move from Toulouse, and his dramatic winner against Lazio last Thursday emphasised that.

Lennon’s comments suggest that there is still a lot more to come from Jullien, and if he can improve on what he has shown so far this season then he will be a hugely important asset for Celtic in their push for a fourth domestic treble. 

Whether he can reach Van Dijk’s level remains to be seen, but he certainly does appear to have those “similar attributes” that Lennon speaks of.