Another potential defensive target looks to have slipped through Albion’s net, as coveted defender Virgil van Dijk opens talks with Celtic.
The Netherlands u-21 international arrived in Glasgow this morning to discuss terms ahead of a medical with the Parkhead club, citing the lure of Champions League football as a key attraction.
Subject of widespread interest during the past year, Albion were keen to steal a march on their rivals and bring the highly-rated Groningen youngster to the Amex, as they lodged an audacious but ultimately fruitless £2.1m bid in the January transfer window.
And it appears they’ll have to turn their attentions elsewhere, if they hadn’t already, as van Dijk looks poised to seal a move to Scottish heavyweights Celtic at some point in the next 24 hours.
Whoever lands the Seagulls’ hotseat in the coming weeks will have a defensive re-building job on their hands, following the return of Matt Upson and Wayne Bridge – a recent acquisition for Reading – from their loans.
With Adam El-Abd also yet to pen a new one-year extension at the Amex, captain Gordon Greer and 21-year-old Lewis Dunk are Albion’s only two central defenders who remain under contract.
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