Celtic so far this season, domestically, have been excelling. We are currently on a rather good winning streak of 11 games in a row in all domestic competitions, but all the more impressive is our run of clean sheets. Celtic have played 10 games without conceding a goal - thats 15 hours of gameplay. Celtic have recently came through unscathed in matches with Inverness, Motherwell and Hibernian, the teams most likely to destroy our run, so it looks like we could take it even further. Whilst I recognise that this running record is a result of the whole team's performance, the player that I feel has contributed the most to these efforts is Virgil Van Dijk. Van Dijk came in the summer to a Celtic team that was going through profound changes. We'd just lost our best players from all outfield areas, so replacements were a necessity. While attacking-wise we may still be in the 'gelling' stage, Virgil has more than filled the boots of Kelvin Wilson. Virgil is huge, and uses his size strength very effectively to out-muscle forwards on their runs and during set-pieces. He also reads the game extremely well, offering a calm and confident approach to defending. Along with his own defensive game, he also seems to communicate extremely well with his team, resulting in an efficient partnership with Efe Ambrose. A few months ago, Celtic supporters, including myself, would have called Ambrose 'a bit of bombscare', but since he and Virgil have clicked into gear, he has became much more steady, and so have the full-backs to a degree. At his old club Groningen, he was actually initially used as a striker before retreating to defence, and it's clear to see why the Groningen manager decided to try him in this position. He's scored 4 goals this season, a nice tally: a double against Ross County (two headers); that incredible solo effort against St Johnstone; and a sensational free-kick in our recent encounter with Hibernian. However, it isn't just Van Dijk's goals that impress, it's his overall attacking play. He has an extremely powerful right foot, a good pass, and if the field opens up in front of him, you can bet that he'll dribble into it with confidence and pace. This gives the midfield a chance to push forward and create more runs, splitting the opposition defence more than they would anticipate. Unfortunately, all of the hype building around Van Dijk has resulted in transfer speculation after just 6 months at Celtic. The speed of which he has grabbed attention from England is only a testament to his ability, but it sure does make us Celtic fans nervous. What also doesn't help is that he has avoided pledging himself to Celtic this transfer window, while enjoying the alleged links with Manchester City and Arsenal at a £10 million valuation. It seems Neil Lennon will have a heck of a job on his hands keeping him here this month and in the summer, with the latter window being even more important. Here's why: this season for Celtic has been like a 'team bonding' exercise. By the time Celtic were playing Champions League football, new players were not getting too much game time as Lennon had yet to find the best way to play them. The only regular new player was Van Dijk (and he still is the only truly regular one), but even he had not formed a confident partnership with Efe Ambrose by then, resulting in embarrassing goal concessions in the group stage. Since then, Celtic have improved significantly and has began to gel extremely well particularly in defence, with their extraordinary clean sheet record providing the evidence. Selling Virgil Van Dijk would destroy all of this progression. He has proved so utterly important recently to the rise in team morale that his absence would bring us back to square one for our next assault on the Champions League. It could be argued that the loss of Fraser Forster would do the same, and it probably would, but apart from the Hibernian match on Sunday he has been relatively unchallenged during the current clean sheet run due to the efficiency and leadership that Van Dijk has offered in defence. Lennon and much of the media have described Celtic's plans to prepare for the Champions League by bringing new players in now and bedding them in early, but I feel that Lennon's top priority must be to keep the core of our defence from being torn apart before next season starts, and Virgil Van Dijk is at the heart of it. Celtic fans, do you agree with this point of view? Or do you think that the money from selling Van Dijk could allow us to bring in an even better defender, or even to build the rest of the team even more? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
As a recent university graduate and a huge supporter of Celtic FC, what better way to use my inevitable free time to write about my favourite football team? I'll cover most things that the supporters are talking about at the moment, which includes things that directly and indirectly involve the club. At times I may also stray into matters concerning English clubs.
