For the past half-decade, Virgil van Dijk has been considered as one of the world’s top players, making it difficult to fathom him playing for one of the Premier League’s lesser clubs.
However, Van Dijk was once on the radar of these mid-table clubs. He eventually ended up at Southampton, but he had the option of joining West Bromwich Albion at one point.
Indeed, West Brom took a serious look at Van Dijk during his tenure at the club, according to Tony Pulis on the Baggies Broadcast Podcast, but the Dutchman proved to be too pricey at the time.
West Bromwich Albion sign Virgil van Dijk
Pulis said that he was close to signing the £75 million Liverpool player for the Baggies.
“We did observe him. Jonathan Gould had played for Celtic, and Gouldy had mentioned him several times. That was on the scouting network, but I’m not sure if we believed he’d be too much or too pricey. “He was definitely one who was mentioned,” Pulis remarked.
West Brom had a difficult time towards the end of the Pulis period and beyond, but we can’t help but think it may have been prevented if Van Dijk had been at the Hawthorns at the time.
The former Southampton man, as we all know, is a genuinely fantastic player, and it’s difficult to envision any team being relegated with the huge Dutch skipper at the heart of their backline.
Unfortunately, West Brom were unable to complete this transaction; nevertheless, the Baggies’ loss was the Saints’ gain, as they were able to recruit a fantastic player and sell him for a great profit a few years later.
