Liverpool have agreed a deal worth £75million for Southampton defender Virgil Van Dijk, a world record for a defender.

The Reds have finally won the battle to land the 26-year-old Dutch international, with rivals Manchester City and Chelsea unwilling to go higher than £60million.

Southampton sources have revealed that whilst the club were always reticent to deal with Liverpool after the two clubs fell out over the summer – the fee agreed was enough to persuade them to do the deal.

Van Dijk will officially move to Anfield on January 1 when the transfer window re-opens, when he will become the world’s most expensive defender – beating the £52million City paid for Benjamin Mendy in the summer.

#SaintsFC has reached an agreement with #LFC over the transfer of @VirgilvDijk in January. Full statement: https://t.co/BKhX6Q1mTm

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 27, 2017

“I can’t wait to pull on the famous red shirt for the first time in front of the Kop and will give everything I have to try and help this great club achieve something special in the years to come,” Van Dijk said.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Les Reed, the board, manager, players, fans and everyone at Southampton.

“I will always be indebted to the club for giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and despite a difficult last few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Saints and have made friends for life at the club.”

Liverpool look to have finally ended their search for a world class centre-half, which they have been searching for in recent years.

Bookmakers are very much backing Liverpool to finish in the top-four and are currently 1/2 with BoyleSports to do so.