Gary Neville shares what he first thought after hearing about Liverpool’s £75m Van Dijk deal

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Liverpool have completed the signing of Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.

Pundit Gary Neville has told Sky Sports that he thinks Southampton have struck a fantastic deal by selling defender Virgil van Dijk to Premier League rivals Liverpool.

The Reds kept their ninth clean sheet of the season on Tuesday night with a 5-0 win over Swansea City, but concerns over their back line in big games – such as Friday’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal – have led many to believe that Jurgen Klopp needed a new centre back.

Klopp seemingly put all of his eggs in the Virgil van Dijk basket over the summer, laying the groundwork to sign the Southampton star before being accused of an illegal approach, which scuppered the deal.

Now though, Van Dijk is finally heading to Anfield, after Liverpool confirmed on their official website that the Dutchman will join the Reds when the transfer window opens on January 1^st.

The Telegraph report that the fee involved is a huge £75million, making Van Dijk the most expensive defender in history, breaking the club’s transfer record too.

Klopp will be hoping that Van Dijk can make a huge impact in the Liverpool defence, and pundit Gary Neville – formerly of Liverpool’s rivals Manchester United – has offered his view on the deal.

Neville has told Sky Sports that his first thought was ‘wow’ after seeing the deal was going through, claiming that it’s an incredible amount of money and Liverpool had to spend it to solve their defensive problems.

Neville added that the deal is fantastic business for Southampton, stating that they would have snapped Liverpool’s hand off for £75million, even after years of selling their top players.

“It’s a lot of money! I was surprised in the summer when I saw £50m for Kyle Walker but he has done brilliantly and it’s just the way the market has shifted to an incredible level that shocked me and when I first heard it I thought ‘wow, £75m’,” said Neville. “I’m not surprised by the actual transfer but that is an incredible amount of money. Liverpool need defenders and have to pay to get him. That’s the way the market is and it isn’t going to change.”

“It sounds like a fantastic deal for Southampton but if Liverpool can stop their creaking in big matches when put under pressure then it will be a good deal for Liverpool as well because people will forget about the money than has been spent in a year or two if they can win trophies and get the defence right. In the bigger matches, Liverpool do stress quite quickly and can crack, so ultimately from Liverpool’s point of view paying that sort of money hopefully it pays off, but for Southampton they would snap your hand off for £75m. Over the last few years they have lost some good players for good money but nothing at this level. It seems like a fantastic sell,” he added.