The Dutch defender came close to moving to Selhurst Park at the beginning of his career.
Former Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock has revealed he missed the chance to sign Virgil van Dijk for only £5m.
Van Dijk went on to join Southampton from Celtic in 2015, kick-starting his brilliant Premier League career. The centre-back soon caught the attention of Liverpool, who signed him on a £75million in January 2018.
In a new interview with Mirror, Warnock reveals he could have signed Van Dijk back when he was in charge of the Eagles.
“The one that got away from me was Virgil van Dijk,” Warnock told the Mirror. “I got offered him when I was at Crystal Palace for £5 million.
“But my chief scout said he was too slow and he ended up at Southampton instead! It’s a shame because anything he may lack in pace, he makes up for 10-fold in his ability to read the game.”
Asked about England’s 4-0 defeat against Hungary and Gareth Southgate’s tactics, Warnock responded:
“I don’t think there was anybody better than Gareth but the problem he’s got is he’s had so much success,” he added.
“When I first started in football an experienced manager Bob Murphy told me ‘the problem with success is the fans always want more’.
“Gareth needs to get a few weeks off to recharge his batteries. These results mean at the beginning of the next camp people will be apprehensive.
“I don’t think you can win as England manager. I think it’s a horrible job. It’s impossible to please everybody. I think it’s a no-win.”
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