Van Dijk 'delighted and honoured' to join Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has offered heartfelt thanks to Southampton but is relishing the chance to "achieve something special" at Liverpool.

Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk endured a difficult season at St Mary's Stadium but nonetheless insists he will "always be indebted" to his old club after spending more than two years on England's south coast.

Virgil van Dijk says he is "delighted and honoured" to be joining Liverpool from Southampton for a reported fee of £75million.

The Premier League clubs announced on Wednesday an agreement had been reached for the centre-back to move to Anfield when the transfer window opens on January 1.

The deal, which Saints confirmed was a world record for a defender, brings to an end months of speculation surrounding Van Dijk's future after he failed to secure a move to Liverpool in August.

READ: Liverpool lands Van Dijk in world-record fee for defender

The 26-year-old has endured a difficult season at St Mary's Stadium but nonetheless insists he will "always be indebted" to his old club after spending more than two years on England's south coast.

However, he has now set his sights on a successful career on Merseyside.

Writing on his official Instagram page, he said: "Delighted and honoured to have agreed to become a Liverpool FC player!  Today is a proud day for me and my family as I join one of the biggest clubs in world football!

Delighted and honoured to have agreed to become a Liverpool FC player! Today is a proud day for me and my family as I join one of the biggest clubs in world football! I can't wait to pull on the famous red shirt for the first time in front of the Kop and will give everything I have to try and help this great club achieve something special in the years to come I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Les Reed, the board, manager, players, fans and everyone at Southampton. I will always be indebted to the club for giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and despite a difficult last few months I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Saints and have made friends for life at the club. Thank you for everything Thank you for all the messages of support I'm now looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and getting started #YNWA

A post shared by Virgil van Dijk (@virgilvandijk) on Dec 27, 2017 at 10:08am PST

 

"I can't wait to pull on the famous red shirt for the first time in front of the Kop and will give everything I have to try and help this great club achieve something special in the years to come.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to [Southampton vice-chairman] Les Reed, the board, manager, players, fans and everyone at Southampton.

"I will always be indebted to the club for giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and despite a difficult last few months I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Saints and have made friends for life at the club. Thank you for everything.

"Thank you for all the messages of support. I'm now looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and getting started."