Jurgen Klopp says Virgil van Dijk has met all his expectations since Liverpool shattered their transfer record to sign him.

The Reds boss has saluted the Dutch defender for how he has handled life at Anfield since his £75million move from Southampton last month.

After a mixed start, Van Dijk delivered a commanding display against Tottenham last weekend and will return to face his former club on a high on Sunday.

“I’m not surprised that he is really, really fantastic and exactly like what we would have expected,” Klopp said.

“He has all the football tools, he is getting better and better. He was not 100% fit when he arrived here for different reasons but he's getting better and better. Everything will be even better in a few weeks.

“He is a football playing centre half. That’s what he is. He is good and I'm absolutely happy having him around.”

Klopp believes Van Dijk is getting to grips with the different demands at Liverpool both in terms of playing style and the scrutiny he faces.

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The big centre-back was fuming after a late penalty was controversially awarded against him following Erik Lamela's theatrical tumble last weekend.

“He was not happy after the last game with the last situation. It was really hard,” Klopp said.

“In another club, an hour after the game not a lot of people talk about it. In Liverpool, you have enough to talk about it for the whole week.

(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

“It is a completely different way of working here. We can beat Southampton, they can beat us. We play in the same league but everything is different here. Each player will tell you exactly the same.

“It’s not only the football thing. Liverpool is an outstanding big club and the boys have to do a lot of things around training, much more than the other clubs but it is all good.

“You have to adapt to all these things and then there is the football. We had much more time to train but it is still not exactly like you would do it in the pre-season.

"That's the truth. That's why I said you will see the best Virgil Van Dijk after pre-season.”

Klopp says in time the 26-year-old will be the dominant leader in Liverpool's backline.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“We have a high last line. Not everyone is happy with our kind of defending but look at the stats,” Klopp added.

“We don’t give the opposition that many chances with that kind of defending. It is different and it is very demanding.

“He will at one point lead this line but at the moment he is not 100% used to it. That’s how it works when you come in the middle of the season.”

The manager intends to speak to Van Dijk about the hot reception that awaits him at St Mary's on Sunday. Keeping his cool will be crucial.

"It is not that I ask: ‘Do you want to play or whatever?’ You say a few words. It’s not a long talk," Klopp added.

"It is nothing really special. But it only five weeks or so since the move so it's not like he's had a full pre-season and then started with us."