Liverpool seal £75m Virgil Van Dijk deal

Virgil Van Dijk will become a Liverpool player when the January transfer window opens, the Reds confirmed today.

A deal has been agreed with Southampton to sign the player for a fee that the Saints claim to be a world record for a defender, Liverpool paying in the region of 75 million pounds to put an end to a very long winded transfer saga.

Another transfer from the South Coast to Merseyside, Van Dijk following the likes of Sadio Mane, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana by making the switch, but this one is perhaps the most anticipated.

Liverpool have been screaming for a blockbuster centre-back ever since Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher dropped from their primes, with the likes of Lovren, Martin Skrtel and Ragnar Klavan becoming little more than comedic figures in recent years.

Van Dijk is expected to come in and partner Joel Matip, perhaps not solving all the defensive issues but certainly helping cutting out the errors.

By paying a world record fee for a defender, Liverpool have of course smashed their own transfer record for the third time within a year following deals for Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita.

Fans have been screaming for Fenway Sports Group to put money down on the first team ever since they took over and maybe those shouts are beginning to be noted, Liverpool beating Manchester City and Chelsea to the signing of one of the Premier League’s top talents.

Ex-Red Jamie Carragher greeted the news on Twitter, noting that Van Dijk was quicker, better in the air and more composed than he was.

Van Dijk himself commented on the move on his Instagram page.

“Delighted and honoured to have agreed to become a Liverpool player. Today is a proud day for me and my family as I join one of the biggest clubs in world football. I can’t wait to pull on the famous shirt for the first time in front of the Kop, I’ll give everything I have to help this great club achieve something special in the years to come.

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new team mates and getting started.”

We can’t wait for you to get started either, Virgil!

A huge deal for Liverpool, especially given they’ve got one over fellow big-guns Chelsea and Manchester City, who were dogged in their pursuit of the Dutchman.

Few will expect him to come in and solve all the defensive issues instantly, nor should they.

But, it’s definitely fair to get excited over a huge upgrade at centre-back, one we’ve waited for and one Liverpool fans certainly deserve given the amount of calamitous defending that’s been seen this season, let alone in recent years!

No pressure, big man!