Celtic have cashed in on a significant number of players over recent years, some of whom have made moves to English clubs.

The likes of Kieran Tierney, Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer, among others, have all joined Premier League clubs in recent years and seen the Hoops pick up hefty sums in terms of transfer fees.

One other player who waved goodbye to Parkhead to join a team south of the border is Virgil van Dijk.

After making 115 appearances for the Bhoys across all competitions, in which he found the net 15 times and delivered seven assists in addition to winning two Premiership titles and one Scottish League Cup, the defender was sold to Southampton in 2015 for a fee of £13m.

Now that several years have passed since the Dutchman left Glasgow, the current transfer window could give Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou the chance to unearth what could be his own version of Van Dijk.

Last month, it was reported that Celtic were in talks with German club Schalke 04 over a potential swoop for their young centre-back Malick Thiaw.

The 20-year-old joined Schalke’s youth squad in 2015 and has since made 142 appearances for the club across their senior and youth teams, chipping in with 14 goals and providing five assists along the way.

In his 31 league appearances last season, the youngster made more interceptions (55) and won more tackles (45) than any other player at the Gelsenkirchen club. He also ended the campaign with a higher average of clearances per game (3.4) than any of his teammates.

This shows that, in addition to being a very capable defender, the Schalke centre-back can also be a threat in front of goal, just as Van Dijk was during his days at Parkhead.

It also backs up why the £5.9k-per-week titan was touted to have a "big future ahead" of him by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

Bearing in mind how successful Van Dijk has gone on to be with Liverpool, the prospect of Postecoglou having his own version of the 30-year-old in his ranks with Thiaw is something that the Parkhead club should definitely try to make a reality this summer.

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