'Van Dijk is the best I have played with'

The pair played together at Scottish side Celtic and the former Sunderland goalkeeper believes that the Dutchman is one of the best in the business.

"The bigger the game the better he plays and he's probably the best player I have played with," Gordon told the 'BBC'.

"It's over £100m for a striker now so for somebody who can stop them? He could have eight years at Liverpool, so it could be good value for money.

"He's without doubt the best centre half that I have every played with. He has absolutely everything to go on and become one of the great centre halves in world football. He's a fantastic footballer and I'm sure he'll do a great job at Liverpool.

"He'd be the benchmark for anyone coming through here to aspire to.

"Every time you see him play it looks so easy for him. He really can do everything, you could probably play him anywhere, he's so quick and strong, he can head it and can even score free-kicks.

"He really is a complete football player. There's not too many centre halves in world football that can play that style of play that people are looking for at the top clubs, to be that comfortable on the ball and to be able to defend. You'll really see the best of him and he will show what a good buy he will be for Liverpool."

Van Dijk joined Celtic from Dutch side Groningen in 2013 for £2.5m, before moving to Southampton for £13m two years later.

The deal to that took him to St Mary's is thought to have included a sell-on clause, meaning that Celtic are expected to receive 10% of the transfer fee from his move to Liverpool.