Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino believes the world record transfer of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool will benefit his club in the long term.

Saints confirmed earlier this week that Dutch international Van Dijk will join Liverpool for £75million when the January transfer window opens, a fee that will make the centre-back the most expensive defender ever.

Van Dijk was an integral part of the Southampton squad during his first two seasons at the club but struggled for consistency over the first half of the current campaign, not featuring since their 4-1 home defeat to Leicester earlier this month.

However, there is certainly no doubting the 26-year-old’s quality although Pellegrino believes Southampton can benefit from his sale as they can now use his transfer fee to strengthen their own squad.

“You have to analyse in a positive way to reinvest this money in our squad to try to be stronger,” Pellegrino said.

“At Southampton it is impossible to bring in players for £80million or £50million.

“But maybe for us it can mean a couple of good players. Maybe we can change one player for two or three players with this money.”

Pellegrino confirmed Saints are already talking to a couple of transfer targets as they look to add some fresh impetus.

He added: “I would like to bring in a couple of players minimum and we have to work for this.”

Southampton have endured an indifferent season to date as they are currently just two points clear of the drop zone and are priced at 8.00 to be relegated.