Virgil van Dijk applauds Celtic fans after the 2-0 defeat in Malmo
Virgil van Dijk contemplates Celtic departure after European blow
Virgil van Dijk admits he is pondering his Celtic future after the Champions League play-off loss to Malmo.
"Celtic is an amazing club and I'm very thankful for everything they have done for me," said the defender following the 4-3 aggregate defeat to the Swedes.
"But if the right opportunity comes and it's the right opportunity for me then I'll consider it, yes.
"It's a terrible way [to go] if it ends like this but I have a lot of great memories at the club."
Southampton have talked to Celtic about the 24-year-old Dutch central defender, who moved to the Glasgow club for £2.6m from Groningen in June 2013 on a four-year deal.
On the eve of a disappointing exit in Malmo, manager Ronny Deila said he was "tired of talking about him" adding that van Dijk "is still a Celtic player and hopefully he'll be that for a long, long time."
After the 2-0 defeat at the Swedbank Stadium, the Celtic boss explained: "We don't have to sell him. But you never know what happens in football.
"He is under contract with us, he is a very good football player and a football player we want to keep."
Golsicilia.it Scotland's Tom English:
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"Every time Celtic miss out on the Champions League group stage they make it harder on themselves to return. You really have to wonder when Celtic will be back on the big stage." |
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Quizzed about the link with Southampton, Van Dijk replied: "I think you need to ask the board.
"I can't give my opinion on that right now, so close after the game. I don't know what will happen in the coming days.
"I've not been talking to anyone. Now that qualification is over we will wait and see.
"I'm not looking for anything. It's a great place to be and they gave me an opportunity to show myself, so I'm very thankful for that."
The Dutchman apologised to fans after a tame loss to Malmo, with Celtic having led 2-0 just 10 minutes into the first leg.
"Before the game everybody was up for it and 100% focused but we didn't start well," he said.
"We knew there was pressure before the game and we told each other to be calm, take your moments and try to relax at times, and just play our game because we are better than them but we didn't show it.
"They got the belief after the first goal, which was a foul in my opinion. After that, we had trouble keeping the ball and simple things went wrong.
"I'm a winner. I want to win every game I play. But we were poor tonight and there is no excuse."