Linked to Virgil van Dijk throughout the summer, Liverpool appear to be stepping up the pursuit of the highly rated Southampton defender.

The 26-year-old Dutchman was signed from Celtic for £13m in 2015 but has seen his value skyrocket during his time on the south coast.

Reports suggest that Southampton were infuriated by stories suggesting their star asset wanted to leave and have since set a £70m asking price.

The club captain has five years left on his current deal with the Saints.

Despite previously selling a number of star players to Liverpool, Southampton have made their stance very clear this summer.

Van Dijk update

Speaking to Sport360.com, Danny Murphy admitted that he believes a deal to secure Virgil van Dijk's signature is "close".

The retired midfielder spent seven years at Anfield, racking up 249 appearances and 44 goals for the club.

Murphy, now a pundit for the BBC and talkSPORT, today gave a very exciting update on the Virgil van Dijk saga.

“My understanding is that they are really trying to push the boat out in bringing new players in to try and compete.

“I think the [Virgil] van Dijk thing is close. That would be a phenomenal signing.

“But there's definitely more business to be done at Anfield.”

Club record transfer fee broken

Signed from Roma for £37m in June, Mohamed Salah became Liverpool's most expensive signing in their history.

Jurgen Klopp looks likely to break the club record at least once more in his pursuit of Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita.

Both players have been reportedly slapped with £70m price tags by their respective clubs.

Reliant on James Milner as a makeshift left-back for much of last season, the Reds are certain to bolster their defence over the coming weeks.

Klopp asks for patience

Jurgen Klopp spoke about Liverpool's activity in the transfer market last week and urged fans to be patient.

“Yes, it will be a difficult one, maybe it’s getting more and more difficult, especially in England.

“But we have made a lot of good things so far. If you cannot see it so far, you can imagine we have done a lot of things behind the scenes.

“Sometimes you need to be patient and that’s what we are in the moment - to wait for the right moment and then we will see what happens.”