Virgil Van Dijk left Celtic in 2015 and has gone to become the world's most expensive defender - but it could have potentially been so different if it weren't for a madcap Leeds United owner.
The Liverpool defender is now renowned as one of the best in his field worldwide after establishing himself at Celtic granted him a chance at the Premier League with Southampton. He joined Jurgen Klopp's men for £75 million in 2018 but a year before his Parkhead exit, he was put forward as a transfer option at Leeds, then in the Championship.
It was during the madcap era of former owner Massimo Cellino, who personally intervened in the suggestion by manager David Hockaday. He instead signed Italian defender Giuseppe Bellusci, who was at Serie B side Catania and returned two years later with Empoli.
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Van Dijk stayed put in Glasgow, where he won the Premiership again before banking Celtic a reported £13 million and taking another step on his road to Liverpool.
Former Elland Road consultant Graham Bean told the Daily Mail: "A month after I joined Leeds, Cellino stunned club supporters by appointing the relatively unknown Dave Hockaday as the new first-team coach. Hockaday's managerial experience amounted to being a youth coach at Watford and Southampton, then four years of being manager of Forest Green Rovers when they were in the National League.
"From his first day it was obvious to me it would all end in tears. Dave did, however, identify two outstanding players that would have transformed the club. One was a certain Virgil Van Dijk, then at Celtic. Unfortunately Cellino ignored him and signed Giuseppe Bellusci on loan from Italian Serie B side Catania. Known as 'The Warrior' in his native Italy because of the way he played, Bellusci thrived on an undeserved hard-man reputation.
"He made his debut in a 4-1 defeat to Watford and things didn't improve much from there. He wasn't liked by many of his team-mates or the club staff."
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