Virgil van Dijk’s arrival could herald start of an era of reliable Liverpool rearguards | Paul Wilson


After developing the Fab Four frontmen Jürgen Klopp has spent £75m on a defender – the first part of an answer to a glaring weakness

Virgil van Dijk appears delighted his long-projected move to Liverpool will go ahead and everyone else involved in the world-record £75m deal has a reason to be just as happy.

Southampton may not have had any particular desire to lose the player but they have been well aware for at least half a season a move was on the cards and have played their role as a selling club to perfection. Liverpool’s offer of £60m last summer was already a lot of money but the Saints made a principled stand over what they considered an illegal approach, occupied the moral high ground as the Merseyside club beat an undignified retreat and ended up with the best financial deal imaginable for a defender they were resigned to losing.

Related: Liverpool agree world-record £75m fee with Southampton for Virgil van Dijk

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