Neil Warnock explains why the Crystal Palace board denied him the opportunity to sign a former Celtic favourite.
That's according to Neil Warnock, who has recalled trying to lure the Dutch defender down south while he was manager of Crystal Palace.
Warnock, 75, had a short stint at Palace the year earlier and even sent a scout up to Scotland to cast an eye on Van Dijk in the hope he could tempt him to Selhurst Park. He said: “Van Dijk was at Celtic and I nearly signed him to Crystal Palace for £3million. When he was there I sent someone up to watch him play and he came back and said ‘he’ll do for us!’.“I said to Steve Parish, who’s still at Palace now, and the stats man that I want to sign Van Dijk for three million pounds. Parish, as with many of the other chairmen, rely on the stats man and he was saying that he didn’t think he was quick enough for the Premier League.
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