VIRGIL VAN DIJK has been quoted as saying that he wants to leave Celtic this summer.
Parkhead manager Ronny Deila has said he is desperate to hold onto van Dijk for the club's upcoming tilt at the Champions League, but the 23-year-old is reported to have stated in a Dutch magazine interview that he feels it is time to play at a higher level of football than the SPFL.
"I'm learning in Scotland every day, but I also know there is more," said van Dijk.
"I am 24 this year, I'm ready for something new - more pressure, better opponents.
"There has been interest every summer and winter, especially from the Premier League.
"I stood there open to it, but Celtic decided not to sell me at that time.
"Yes, I was disappointed.
"They must understand that as a footballer, sometimes it's time to make a move.
"Of course, the Champions League millions are important for Celtic, but they cannot dismiss any interest.
"If the correct amount is placed on the table, then they will really think about it, yes.
"If Celtic want to earn money from me, the club must act now."
Van Dijk has revealed he is also being advised to leave Scotland to further his international aspirations, having failed to win a full cap for his country so far.
Sunderland have been credited with an interest and may seek to use Scotland international forward Steven Fletcher, a known target for the SPFL Premiership champions, as a makeweight.
"It's a dream and a goal to play for the Oranje," said van Dijk.
"When you play in the Premier League, you are more in the picture. That is clear. Whether that's right, I'll leave it to others.
"There are several people who have advised me to leave Scotland. This was mainly to move a step higher, but also the Holland team plays a role.
"The next major finals in France. I have to go for it, but this is only possible if I perform well in a club."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article