Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson claims he still has massive respect for Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk after banking Old Firm rivals Celtic £13m on a transfer to Southampton in 2015.
The Ibrox transfer chief was previously in a director of football role at St Mary’s and with the help of Ronald Koeman, helped secure the transfer of the now Liverpool centre-half.
Van Dijk would go on to cement himself in the Saints team before breaking the world transfer record for a defender in a £75m Anfield move after three seasons.
But speaking to 90min, Rangers director Wilson admits he was remarkably surprised that there hadn’t been even move interest in the Netherlands centre-back as the then Saints man banked his soon to be rivals a fortune.
“I always play it down on Virgil van Dijk, it was a genuine no brainer for us. I wasn’t surprised we could get him, there was competition for him but I was probably a bit surprised there wasn’t more interest if anything,” said Wilson.
“He was brilliant and made a fantastic impact on the club, but Virgil van Dijk is someone I have a huge amount of respect for and I was delighted he made such an impact. It did help having Ronald Koeman, no question about that.”
Van Dijk wasn’t the only former Celtic player to wind up at St Mary’s during Wilson’s time there either; Stewart Armstrong and Fraser Forster also moved down south in big-money deals during Ross’ tenure.
The signing of Wilson – who has also had roles with Falkirk, Watford and Huddersfield in his impressive career – was considered a major coup with the recruitment head joining in October 2019.
With grand plans for Rangers and a vision which is already visibly being implemented, the appointment of the sporting director may go down as a huge moment in Ibrox history.
But as Wilson explains, things could’ve been particularly different after the now-Ibrox director turned down the offer of a job with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
“I first realised that this was my career when John Hughes offered me the chance to move to Hibernian with him,” explains Wilson.
“I had sleepless night about telling him I would not go, and around the same time I also turned down Celtic under John Park.
“That was difficult as John is someone I’m close to, and he was one of the most respected people in Scottish football who had previously given me so much of his time and has been a friend and a confidante to me.”
Meanwhile, Gers fans have been reacting to a new film released which involves Wilson looking back on last season’s undefeated title triumph.
