Celtic revealed earlier this week that they had paid £3 million to Elfsborg FC to acquire Gustaf Lagerbeilke. According to his contract, Gustaf will reside at Parkhead for the following five years and is the sixth new hire this summer.
The 21-year-old has already made reference to the ties between Celtic and Sweden through Mikael Lustig and Henrik Larsson, but he has also mentioned another Celtic star who supported his choice: Virgil Van Dijk.
Gustaf believes he can utilize Van Dijk’s growth at Celtic as a model for his own success. Van Dijk is already thought of as one of the top defenders in the Premier League, but Lagerbielke believes that he can become even better by imitating Virgil. Lagerbielke remarked, as published by the Daily Record…
“I’ve always thought of myself as a competitor who gives his all for the team and can make both short- and long-range passes. strong in the air and when dueling, has the potential to score a couple goals.
“Virgil Van Dijk had already visited this location, which is a great motivation. In addition, he is a very professional player outside of the field of play. He is driven to continually improve his ability to lead. He’s a highly talented athlete, and his Celtic heritage further adds to it. He was a fantastic player for Celtic and he inspired excellent things to happen.
Van Dijk played in the Champions League group stages in 2013 and the Europa League Last 32 the following year while playing for Glasgow, where he won two Premiership championships and the League Cup under Ronny Deila. Van Dijk then moved for £12 million to Southampton, and two years later, after moving for £75 million to Liverpool, he became the (then) most expensive defender in the world.
