CELTIC'S assistant head scout has admitted Virgil van Dijk is likely to be sold during this transfer window if a club can come up with at least £12million for the Dutchman.

David Moss, the former Falkirk player who has held scouting positions at a number of clubs before joining the Scottish champions, revealed in an interview with VSI, a company that works in sport and business, that the defender would be the next player to be sold on for a profit.

And he also admitted that even £3m would be too much for the Parkhead club to spend one one players these days.

Ronny Deila, the Celtic manager, has stated that Van Dijk would not leave at least until after the two play-off matches with Malmo and even if the centre-half did go, that will only happen after this final round of Champions League qualifiers.

Celtic have lined up Dinamo Zagreb centre-back Jozo Simunovic as a replacement when Van Dijk does depart, with Southampton current favourites although they would have to up their offer of £10m.

Speaking about where his club are in the world for football, Moss was quoted as saying: "We do not receive the £80-£100 million Premier League clubs receive each year from SKY/BT in comparison to the approximate £2.5 million Celtic receive.

"We therefore cannot compete for players playing in the Premier League and even majority of the Championship clubs due to the salaries and transfer fees now demanded. In general we are targeting players valued under £2.5 million.

"Although we can only spend approximately £2.5m we are still seeking players who can compete against some of the best teams in Europe in Champions League games and also have the potential to be sold to the Premier League or other top European teams within 1-2 years.

"We therefore operate in a high-risk market as we cannot afford the ‘ready-made’ players and need to identify young and ‘un-proven’ players.

"In recent seasons however we have done rather well working to this strategy with Goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Midfielder Victor Wanyama and Striker Gary Hooper selling for £10, £12 and £6 million respectively. All these players were bought for under £2.5m.

"Central Defender Virgil Van Dyk will also probably be sold for in excess of these figures in the coming weeks."

Moss went on to say that while Celtic are bigger than the clubs he worked for south of the border, as long as they remain in Scotland they will never be able to compete in a financial sense.

He said: "Moving onto Celtic Football Club people ask me how it compares to Swansea City and Crystal Palace. My response is, there is no comparison because Celtic is a ‘juggernaut’ in comparison employing over 500 people both full and part-time.

"Celtic is an institution that is known throughout world football. In Europe where I spend the majority of my time watching players/games Celtic has a tremendous reputation an opinion which is probably not replicated the same in England due to the huge TV coverage the Premier League teams now receive.

"I believe it is a great shame Celtic and also Rangers cannot be part of the Premier League like Swansea now and Cardiff previously.

"If both clubs were to receive the £100 million Premier League clubs receive each year Celtic and Rangers would easily be top eight PL teams within five years due in my opinion. This opinion is based on the huge fan bases and commercial revenues both clubs can demand throughout the world."