Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk listens to the national anthem prior to their World Cup Group A qualifying soccer match in the ArenA stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands s Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 AP
Liverpool have agreed to sign Netherlands international Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for a reported world record fee for a defender, both Premier League clubs said on Wednesday.
"The Reds have agreed a deal with the south coast club, and the player himself, that will see the 26-year-old defender move to Anfield when the transfer window re-opens on January 1, 2018," Liverpool said in a statement.
"The Netherlands international will be assigned squad number four, upon his arrival at Liverpool."
Southampton confirmed they "agreed new world-record transfer fee" for a defender for Van Dijk, with British media reporting the figure to be around 75 million pounds ($100.44 million).
Van Dijk was expected to join the Merseyside club at the start of the season after he had handed in a transfer request to Southampton.
But the move fell through when Liverpool were forced to make a public apology after being accused of making an illegal approach for the player.
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