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Virgil van Dijk has agreed his massive new contract with Liverpool .

And it’s down to the £69million benchmark set by new Manchester United signing Harry Maguire.

European Footballer of the Year Van Dijk has committed the best years of his career to the Anfield club after the final details on the near-six-year deal were finally sealed last week.

Negotiations over improved terms had been ongoing during the summer, but sources in Holland have confirmed that the centre-half will be staying on Merseyside after the two sides successfully concluded talks.

Van Dijk’s current deal was not due to expire until 2023 after his switch from Southampton for £75m just 20 months ago.

(Image: PA Images)

But the fresh terms will give him a considerable uplift on the £125,000-a-week basic he secured when moving from the south coast club, pushing him nearer to £200,000-a-week and tie him to the six-time European Cup winners until 2025.

His existing deal did include plenty of bonus clauses, with add-ons due to him on clean sheets and appearances.

His new contract will give him an improved basic pay with less dependency on the additional payments than before.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The parties had been discussing improved terms for Van Dijk, even before the £80m world-record fee for a defender that was secured when Maguire left Leicester for Old Trafford.

That transfer gave Van Dijk’s representatives the target for what they needed.