Southampton are basically a feeder club for Liverpool now, aren't they?
After playing hard-ball in the summer, Saints have finally decided to cash in on want-away defender Virgil van Dijk, for a massive fee of £70 million, a world-record transfer for a defender.
Back in the summer, it's fair to say we, along with many other news outlets, were a bit quick to pull the trigger on Van Dijk moving to Liverpool and that made Southampton think something fishy was going on and they reported Liverpool for tapping up.
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The former Celtic man stayed put, despite handing in an official transfer request in the summer, but after being dropped from the squad altogether for Southampton's last two games, it appeared he was heading for the exit.
Image: PA
Both clubs have since confirmed a deal has been struck, and that VDV will officially become a Reds player on 1 January.
And after the move was announced, two pretty incredible statistics have been doing the rounds. In joining Liverpool, van Dijk has become the sixth Southampton player to sign for the Reds in the past four years.
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Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert all made the switch in the summer of 2014 when Brendan Rodgers was at the helm, before Nathanial Clyne joined a year later.
Sadio Mane was next, moving for a fee of £34 million in the summer of 2016, and going on to score 20 goals in 44 appearances for the club.
In total, as noted by reddit user 'erldn123', using the Liverpool Echo and Financial Times as sources, (though Liverpool have spent £178 million on Southampton players, just short of the £210 million the South Coast club were sold for in August.
Furthermore, Saints have also provided Liverpool with more first-team players than their academy has churned out in the last few years.
Which Southampton player will Liverpool buy next?!
Featured Image Credit: Liverpool FCTopics: Liverpool, Dejan Lovren, Southampton, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk, Adam Lallana
