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Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool don't have to balance the books following the £75million signing of Virgil van Dijk.

The Reds boss has saluted the ambition shown by owners Fenway Sports Group after they sanctioned a deal which shattered the club's transfer record and made the Dutchman the most expensive defender in history.

Klopp dismissed suggestions that Liverpool would need to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January in order to cover the outlay for Van Dijk.

However, he stopped short of providing any cast-iron guarantees that the Brazilian attacker will be at Anfield for the rest of the season.

"We have signed a good player and we don’t have to sell anybody because of that," Klopp said.

"Balance the books? No. Nobody told me that. I have no information about that.

"Fair play to our owners that they are ambitious and now we have to use the quality to grow together again much more."

Klopp admits he "doesn't like" the eye-watering sum of money Liverpool had to pay to land his top defensive target in Van Dijk.

But he believes in the current market the £75million fee does make sense, especially as the centre-back was under contract at Southampton until 2022.

"Virgil had a long contract at Southampton. You ask is it possible, they give you a number and then you think about it or stop thinking about it or do it," Klopp said.

(Image: Liverpool FC)

"Of course prices have changed. £75million at this moment is very good for Southampton. They want to improve their squad as well. Do you think when they go to another club – if the player is not a free agent – those clubs will be accepting £5million for a replacement?

"It started a few years ago. If you can not do it you have to look for other solutions but in the market for centre-halves at this moment there are a lot of other interesting centre-halves that have (release) clauses.

"There is not one with a low clause. If you do not want to do it, do not do it. We wanted to do it and our owners gave us the opportunity to do it and that is why he will be a LFC player from January 1.

"Do I like it? No because it puts more pressure on pretty much everything. That is why I said as a Liverpool community we have to ignore it immediately. Let other people talk about it. They are more or less interested in us.

"But we must forget it immediately. It's done. He is a player for us, he can improve and he needs to adapt."

(Image: Photo by Colin Lane)

Securing the services of Van Dijk on a five-and-a-half year deal has been viewed as a statement signing by supporters desperate for the Reds to kick on and challenge for the big prizes under Klopp.

For the manager, it's a deal which provides further depth to his squad and he's determined to keep raising the bar.

"I haven’t a clue what the fans think," Klopp said.

"I got a few messages from Liverpool fans who have my number and they sent me ‘congratulations’ or whatever. But I am sure there will be people out there who will say ‘that’s too much money’. That's how it is.

"It’s not to make a statement with a transfer, I don’t believe in that much. A statement is the quality of our squad in the moment.

"Now of course we still have to improve it. We need to have solutions for different moments. There are a lot of games to come and we need all the players.

"It’s not that it starts from now. For clubs like Liverpool, if you ask for a player the other club always say ‘let’s try’ so usually we don’t do it.

"We say ‘no’ and we have a lot of other options and the price can go down a little bit. It’s always like this.

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

"When Mohamed Salah came in a lot of people thought it was too much and now they think ‘wow, what a catch’. We can talk about it but really I have pretty much forgotten the price already. It’s done and it’s not important for us as a Liverpool family."

The signing of Van Dijk has coincided with further speculation linking Coutinho with Barcelona.

The Brazil international is still coveted by the La Liga leaders, who had three bids rejected by the Reds last summer.

With Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League and battling for a top-four finish in the Premier League, it would make little sense for them to sell their most valuable asset during the January window.

Klopp wants to keep his squad together but he remains reluctant to discuss Coutinho's future.

Will Coutinho still be a Liverpool player come February 1?

"I don't talk about things like this," he added. "There is nothing to say. The transfer window starts on January 1 and a few things will happen in other clubs. It has happened in our club already because a player came in.

"The only thing I will say and the only thing I am interested in is how Phil is playing at the moment.

(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

"I was really happy about the last few performances and about his impact. He showed his character in the games and in the training sessions. That was spot on.

"That is what I am interested in because all the rest I can’t and I don’t want to talk about because if I open the door then you run all the way through.

"In my business it makes absolutely no sense to talk about things that ‘could’ ‘maybe’ happen because all it does is create stories which 90% of the time are not true. Why should we do that?

"There are never guarantees. When I talk about keeping them together I don’t think about only the first XI to be honest. There is a lot of quality.

"We have a first 15 or 16 and can make a few changes if they are all fit so that we don’t lose quality. We have to look at how we can keep the level and the standard."