Southampton fans hoping for a spending spree this month after the £74 million sale of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool are going to be disappointed as the club’s initial windfall from their record transfer deal will be less than £17 million. Although Southampton are guaranteed to receive £70 million for Van Dijk, with a further £4 million due in bonus payments if the Holland defender meets certain performance targets, the way the transfer has been structured means that Liverpool’s payments will be made in three equal instalments over the next three years beginning with a £23.3 million downpayment this month.

Southampton’s cash flow will be further limited by the fact that Celtic’s sell-on fee for Van Dijk — 10 per cent of Southampton’s profit on