Southampton have completed the signing of Virgil van Dijk from Celtic.
The Dutch defender has penned a five year deal with the Premier League outfit after the two clubs agreed on a fee of £11.5million.
Van Dijk, 24, had long been linked with a move to the English Premier League, with Everton, Sunderland and Tottenham among the other clubs to reportedly show an interest.
CONFIRMED: #SaintsFC completes the #deadlineday signing of @VirgilvDijk from @celticfc on a five-year contract.https://t.co/2Oj5TEzyin
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 1, 2015
Celtic have signed Tyler Blackett on loan from Manchester United as a replacement for the outgoing Van Dijk, while centre half Jozo Simunovic, 21, is also on the verge of signing from Dinamo Zagreb in a deal worth around £5million.
Van Dijk becomes the third Celtic player to join Southampton in recent years, following Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama, taking the Saints spending on Celtic players to £35million in the last two years.
Victor Wanyama swapped Glasgow for the south coast of England in July 2013 and in August last year Fraser Forster made the same trip, joining Southampton for just over £10million.
When Southampton complete the signing of Virgil van Dijk, they will have spent almost £35m on three Celtic players since summer 2013.
— sportingintelligence (@sportingintel) September 1, 2015
More to follow.