JAN VENNEGOOR of HESSELINK believes it will be better for all parties if Virgil van Dijk is sold now for a suitable price to an English Premier League side where he can flourish as a player.
However, he has cautioned his fellow countryman that has to choose wisely because he may never play at a better club than Celtic.
Van Dijk said on a Dutch radio station that he is ready to move because the competition in Scotland is not strong enough and he has been linked with moves Southampton, Everton, Swansea and, more recently, Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Vennegoor of Hesselink knows from his own experience of moving to Hull City after three years with Celtic that the English adventure is not all that it is cracked up to be.
The former Celtic forward said: "Sometimes it all just comes together. The club gets the cash they want, the player wants to go to the biggest league in the world and everybody is happy.
"Hopefully for him something will come up because there is a lot of interest and his name comes up in the paper all the time.
"The interest is there and I think if everything is realistic and Celtic get the right amount of money and Virgil is happy then fine.
"But what I would warn him is that the grass is not always greener.
"I think he will realise that when he stops playing football. He has played for a really big club in Celtic.
"I played for Hull and for me it was all about the experience of the Premier League but it's another kind of football from what you get to play at a club like Celtic."
Ronny Deila clearly wants to keep the powerful defender who is also so adept from set piece situations but Vennegoor of Hesselink thinks a clean break this summer is the best solution.
He said: "The manager says he wants to keep him for the qualifiers and hopefully qualify for the Champions League and that's understandable.
"But the most ideal situation for a football player is to go in for pre-season, shake hands with his new teammates and see how it goes.
"For Virgil it's a pivotal point because he has to choose a stable club and one that is good for his development and a team that can maybe help him become a regular in the Dutch squad."
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