LIVERPOOL’S LONG PURSUIT of Virgil van Dijk has finally reached a successful conclusion.
It has been confirmed this evening that the Dutch international defender will move from Southampton to Liverpool when the transfer window officially opens on Monday, 1 January.
Van Dijk, who had also been a target for Chelsea and Manchester City, leaves Southampton after two-and-a-half seasons, having joined the club in 2015 from Celtic.
In a brief statement, Southampton said the transfer of the 26-year-old centre-half sets a new world record fee for a defender — believed to be £75 million.
The previous record had been in place since last summer when Manchester City paid Tottenham Hotspur £54m for Kyle Walker. Alongside Romelu Lukaku, van Dijk also becomes the second-most expensive player in Premier League history behind Paul Pogba (£90m).
Liverpool have assigned squad number four to their newest addition.
