Liverpool are preparing to smash their transfer record in order to land Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.

The Liverpool Echo is reporting that the Reds are ready to pay £50million for the Dutch defender this summer.

Liverpool paid £35m for Andy Carroll in January 2011 but are willing to go £15m above that to lure the star centre-back from the south coast.

If van Dijk does happen to leave St Mary's to Anfield, he will be the next player in recent years to do so, following Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana.

However, it won't come easy for Jurgen Klopp as van Dijk, 25, remains a target for Liverpool's key Premier League rivals such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton.