Virgil van Dijk's £75 million move to Liverpool which is to be completed on January 1 has been a bold statement by both the club and Jurgen Klopp.

A transfer had long seemed dead in the water when Southampton threatened to report the Reds of an illegal approach for the Dutchman during the summer.

However, while Liverpool have miraculously managed to turn things around and complete a world record deal, it has also come as a minor miracle for the Anfield faithful also.

The Reds' defensive frailties is a topic of conversation which has long been worn out, but for some time it has appeared that Klopp has not taken his side's leaky defence seriously.

But Reds fans have been handed a late Christmas present in the form of a huge January signing that could, with one or two more defensive additions, change Liverpool's prospects.

Dejan Lovren's poor form of late and question marks over Ragnar Klavan will still be of concern at Anfield. However, Van Dijk appears to be the solid foundation of which Klopp will build upon.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho made a small dig at Klopp during his Friday press conference after the Liverpool boss' comments about Paul Pogba's huge fee two summer's ago.

Mourinho's dig at Klopp over transfer

"If I was one of you I would ask him about his comments about one year ago,” said Mourinho, per the Guardian.

However, given Van Dijk only signed a new six-year deal with Southampton in May last year, that, and Manchester City's genuine interest in the defender, has caused his price to drastically increase.

Liverpool's fortunes will not simply change overnight, but Klopp hopes his new arrival will heighten security in a Reds backline that's conceded the most league goals out of the top five clubs.

Klopp's men have let in half as many goals as they scored in the Premier League this season, scoring 46 - which is only bettered by the 61 scored by City.

Klopp gives opinion on Van Dijk fee

But although Van Dijk's arrival is music to everyone's ears at Anfield, Klopp admits he's not totally happy with the fee - given it seemed apparent £60 million would have been sufficient last summer.

"A fee of £75m at this moment is very good for Southampton. They want to improve their squad as well," Klopp said, per Goal.

"Do you think when they go to a club – if the player is not a free agent – those clubs will be accepting £5m for a replacement? That is how it is.

"It's not nice, but that's the market, that's the world. We have to adapt."

City, United and Chelsea have been the biggest spenders in the Premier League for quite some time, but Liverpool are also proving to be willing to spend huge figures when necessary.

It could be the Reds willingness to invest heavily which could see a switch from top four contenders to genuine title challengers over the next couple of seasons.