Southampton Sign Dutch Defender For £11.5m

Virgil van Dijk is Ronald Koeman's eighth summer signing.

By Matt Smith / September 1, 2015

Southampton have signed Virgil van Dijk from Celtic for a reported fee of £11.5 million, according to the Guardian.

Considered to be one of the finest talents north of the border, Van Dijk has been courted by a whole host of Premier League clubs, including Newcastle and Arsenal this summer. Van Dijk was capped three times by the Holland Under-21 side and he has made 170 career appearances in all for both Groningen and Celtic, scoring 22 times. The FC Groningen director Hans Nijland tweeted: We congratulate Virgil van Dijk wholeheartedly with his transfer to Southampton. A very nice and deserved transfer!

Van Dijk told Southampton's official website that it was an unbelievable opportunity to play in the Premier League.

He said:

Im delighted. It was a very easy decision to join this club.

This is a very ambitious club, who have been doing very well in the last couple of years. Its a great place to be and its the right step for me.

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"For me now to get the opportunity to play in the Premier League is unbelievable and I will enjoy it. I know its an ambitious club they have been through a lot throughout the years. They are trying to play football and thats something that really attracted me.

Im so excited. I hope to settle in really quick, get everything around football sorted, start playing and enjoying it because the most important thing in football is to have fun and enjoy every day.

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