Liverpool transfer news: Virgil van Dijk is the defender that Reds should sign, says club legend Steven Gerrard

STEVEN GERRARD has urged Jurgen Klopp to make Virgil van Dijk a Liverpool player.

But the Reds legend admits his view could "go down like a lead balloon".

And that is because the Merseyside club have plundered £91.5 MILLION in talent from Southampton in the past few seasons.

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The Dutch international has been linked with a big-money away St Mary's.

And the Reds clearly need a commanding presence at the back.

They shipped three goals as their title charge hit the buffers with a shock defeat to Swansea on Saturday.

Gerrard, who rejoined his boyhood club last week to work with their academy, believes 12-cap Dutch international Van Dijk is the man needed to sure up their leaky back-line.

He told BT Sport: "Who I think we need, I would go and try and bid for Van Dijk from Southampton.

“But we’ve had enough of their players so that will probably go down like a lead balloon."

Both Manchester giants have also been linked with Van Dijk.

But any move this month would appear unlikely after the 25-year-old picked up an injury in the 3-0 win over Leicester yesterday.

He was later pictured leaving St Mary's with a protective boot around his left ankle as he boarded the team bus.