Liverpool transfer rumour: Southampton's Virgil van Dijk is interested in joining Jurgen Klopp's side

Liverpool have been handed a massive boost in signing Virgil van Dijk as the Southampton defender is keen on completing a move to Anfield.

According to the BBC, Van Dijk will only leave St Mary's Stadium if he gets a chance to make a switch to the Merseyside club. He has emerged as a priority signing for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in the summer transfer window.

The same report claims the Saints star has been a transfer target for Premier League winners Chelsea and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. However, Van Dijk has set his sights on joining the former Borussia Dortmund manager at Liverpool.

Klopp admitted that his side has "so much space to improve" as they return to the Champions League. The 25-year-old's capture will see them start the process of strengthening their defence for the new campaign.

The Dutch international was impressive in the first half of the 2016/17 campaign and an injury in January saw him being ruled out for the remainder of the last season. His form has seen him attract interest from the Reds, City and Chelsea in recent times. BBC claims that Liverpool are poised to win the race for his signature.

Over the past few months, Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger, executive director Les Reed, and the Saints manager Claude Puel have maintained that Van Dijk is not for sale. The Guardian reports that Liverpool are yet to agree a fee with the South Coast club.

Liverpool are ready to beat City and Antonio Conte's side and pay a world-record fee of £60m ($77.5m) to Southampton to secure the former Celtic man's services. Guardiola's club were ready to offer £200,000 a week ($258,600 per week) and the Reds are ready to match City's offer for the defender.

Should the deal go through, Van Dijk could be Liverpool's record signing and the club's highest-paid player ever. Another report from the Guardian claims that Klopp is also keen on signing AS Roma's Mohamed Salah.

The former Chelsea winger has impressed during his time with the Serie A outfit. The Egyptian international's move from Roma to Anfield is likely to be completed this week as Liverpool are close to agreeing a £35m ($45.2m) deal with the Italian outfit for Salah.