Report Claims Liverpool Set to Sign Van Dijk in Sensational £75m Deal for Southampton Defender

Liverpool are finally set to sign Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk for a fee of £75m, if journalist Dave O'Connell is to be believed.

The Reds have been chasing Van Dijk all summer and were infamously told to desist by Southampton in their pursuit of the Netherlands international, who impressed last season before picking up an ankle injury in January.

However, speculation of continued Liverpool moves have bubbled away since the public climb down back in June, and O'Connell believes Liverpool are set to beat out competition including Juventus to the signing of Van Dijk, with only the "finer details" needing to be agreed.

Liverpool have been criticised in recent years for their defensive vulnerabilities, with the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klaven unable to stop Jurgen Klopp's side leaking goals, while Mamadou Sakho has been frozen out of the team.

The Anfield side have kept two clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season, picking up shutouts against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, but doubts remain over their defenders and goalkeepers, with Klopp switching Simon Mignolet for Loris Karius on Sunday for the Gunners win.

Liverpool are hotting up in the transfer window as the deadline approaches, with the club recently announcing a deal for RB Leipzid midfielder Naby Keita has been agreed to bring the Guinea international to Merseyside next year.

A bid for Monaco winger Thomas Lemar has also been submitted but the Ligue 1 champions are eager not to let the France international leave, with former first-team stars Tiemoue Bakayoko, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva all moving while Fabinho and Kylian Mbappe have also been heavily linked with moves away.