During the last decade or so, Celtic supporters have been blessed to witness some ultra-talented players donning the famous green and white hoops.
Earlier this year, the Daily Record declared the Scottish champions as the “best run club in Britain” with reference to their very successful transfer strategy of buying unknown younger players, giving them a platform on which to shine before selling them for huge profits.
Matt O’Riley was the latest player on this conveyor belt, departing for Brighton for £25m this summer, having been signed from Milton Keynes Dons for a mere £1.5m, but there are countless other examples from the recent past too, including a certain Virgil van Dijk.
Virgil van Dijk's time at Celtic
Without a doubt, the most high-profile player to have featured for Celtic in the last two decades is Van Dijk.
Signed from Groningen for a mere £2.6m transfer fee, it became apparent that the Dutch defender, still in his early 20s, was simply too good for Scottish Premiership level, with manager Neil Lennon later admitting he told van Dijk, during his very first day at Lennoxtown, to “enjoy yourself… you won’t be here long”.
Appearances
115
Minutes
10,020
Goals
15
Trophies
3
Ultimately, following Celtic’s Champions League play-off round defeat to Malmö in 2016, van Dijk was sold to Southampton for around £13m, before then moving to Liverpool for then moving to Liverpool for £75m, at the time becoming the most expensive defender in history, with the Hoops reportedly pocketing more than £6m through a sell-on clause.
Given that van Dijk has gone onto become the undisputed best centre-back in the Premier League, winning the Champions League and finishing second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings, behind only, arguably, the greatest player to ever play this sport, it is mind-blowing that this guy played for Celtic, banging in free-kicks at a half-empty Hampden during a 3-2 defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle.
However, there is another former Celtic defender out there who could ultimately eclipse all that his fellow Dutchman Van Dijk has achieved.
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The former Celtic star rated more highly than Van Dijk
When Jeremie Frimpong arrived at Celtic from Manchester City for a mere £300,000, he was just 18-years old and had never made a senior appearance in his life.
However, he instantaneously became a fans’ favourite, actually named Celtic’s Young Player of the Year by supporters following his debut campaign in Glasgow.
During that season’s League Cup Final, Frimpong was sent off for committing a last-man foul on Rangers’ striker Alfredo Morelos.
However, Fraser Forster saved the subsequent spot-kick, with Lennon’s side holding on for a famous 1-0 victory over their fiercest rivals in the pouring rain, with Frimpong giving this post-match interview to BT Sport, which will forever endear him to the fanbase.
The club even launched a range of “Oh My Days” t-shirts with Frimpong, enthusiastically as ever, saying: “I never expected to have my own t-shirt, I’m really happy about it!”.
Appearances
51
Minutes
3,865
Goals
3
Assists
8
Trophies
3
Frimpong was then sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5m in January 2021 and his stock has only skyrocketed subsequently.
Last season, he was something of a “cheat code” in the words of scout Antonio Mango, deployed in an attack-minded, right-wing-back role, Frimpong was a key figure for Bayer, scoring 14 goals and providing 12 assists.
This came as die Werkself went through an entire Bundesliga campaign unbeaten, the first side to achieve this in German top-flight history, hoisting aloft the Meisterschale for the very first time, also getting their hands on the DFB-Pokal, their sole defeat of the entire campaign, in any competition, May’s Europa League Final loss to Atalanta.
Already this season, even with die Schwarzroten unable to recapture their form from the title-winning campaign, Frimpong has two goals and an ultra-impressive seven assists to his name, most recently on target during Saturday’s victory over Union Berlin at Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
At international level too, he was handed his full-senior debut by Ronald Koeman in October 2023, scoring his first goal for the Oranje against Canada at De Kuip in June, predominantly deployed as a right-sided attacker for Holland, including starting in that role against France during the Euros.
Frimpong is routinely linked with a move away from Bayer, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid amongst those reportedly interested in his services.
This could be good news for Celtic supporters, given that the Hoops are entitled to a 30% sell-on clause, so, if Frimpong’s reported £34m release clause were to be met, £7.3 million would be heading the way of the Glasgow giants.
As it happens, this week, it was announced that Frimpong has been shortlisted by FIFA’s The Best for the best defender in the world award, a selection of 22 nominees that actually features Celtic’s current incumbent at right-back Alistair Johnston, as well as some slightly more high-profile names.
That being said, it doesn’t feature a certain Van Dijk, suggesting that the game’s biggest organisation see Frimpong ahead of him at this stage of their two careers.
The right-back, still only 23-years old, looks set to be the next sensation that no one can quite believe used to play for Celtic.
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