Monday 13 February 2017 14:25, UK
Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says the club turned down Virgil van Dijk before he joined Southampton.
Van Dijk has been linked with a host of Europe's biggest clubs after an impressive campaign for Southampton, prior to suffering an ankle injury, but Southampton executive director Les Reed insisting the player is "not for sale" in January.
Rodgers has now revealed he was offered the chance to sign Van Dijk for Liverpool before the defender left Celtic for Southampton for £2.6m in 2013, but the Reds' scouting pool did not think he was suitable for the club.
"Virgil van Dijk could have jumped from Celtic to Liverpool," Rodgers, now Celtic manager, told the Evening Times. "Some clubs will want to see the players tested at certain arenas first.
"But if there is enough belief in the player then that counts. The key for scouting is trying to predict when the player is peaking.
"You could see with Van Dijk that he was quick, strong, good on the ball and decent in the air.
"So what more do you need to see? You could see him playing international football and, okay, clubs may want to see him in Champions League.
"There is maybe an issue with scouts," Rodgers added.
"When I was at Liverpool I asked about Van Dijk and he was at Groningen and then at Celtic. But I was told he wouldn't be for us at the time."
