Southampton's £300m team... from Gareth Bale to new Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, the incredible squad and the transfer fees they've recouped

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Southampton have 75 million reasons to cheer this morning after completing a deal to sell wantaway defender Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool.

The Reds confirmed the club-record deal for the former Celtic man on Wednesday evening, bringing to an end a drawn-out saga that stretched back to the summer.   

Not only is Van Dijk the most expensive defender of all time, he now joins an exclusive club of players sold by Southampton to the biggest clubs in Europe. 

Liverpool have agreed a £75million fee with Southampton to sign defender Virgil van Dijk

The defender becomes the latest player to leave Southampton for a huge transfer fee

In fact, the Saints have made around £300million from selling players in recent seasons, a large chunk of which made their way to Liverpool. 

The most high-profile is of course Gareth Bale, who joined Tottenham back in 2007 when the Saints were in the Championship for a fee of £10million. 

Unfortunately for them, there was no sell-on clause and the Welshman went on to become the most expensive player in the world in 2013, joining Real Madrid for £82million.   

Gareth Bale was allowed to leave Southampton in 2007 for just £10million, with no sell-on fee

Luke Shaw became one of the world's most expensive teenagers when he joined Man Utd

SOUTHAMPTON'S £300M TEAM 

... Plus the subs:

Graziano Pelle, Calum Chambers, Jay Rodriguez 

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Despite that miss, Southampton have made plenty of cash selling on stars elsewhere, including recouping large amounts from Liverpool.

The Merseyside outfit forked out £12.5million for Nathaniel Clyne in 2015, £25million for Adam Lallana in 2014 and £34million for Sadio Mane in 2016, sending a total of almost £72million to the Southampton bank account. 

Tottenham dipped back into the Saints' pool of talent after their successful raid for Bale, forking out around £11.5million for former Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld and £11million for Victor Wanyama. Earlier this year, Mauricio Pochettino went back once more to lure Paulo Gazzaniga to White Hart Lane.

Sadio Mane was the latest in a long line to join Liverpool from Southampton until Van Dijk

Lallana headed to Merseyside from the south coast back in 2014 for a fee of around £25million

Not to be left out, Manchester United had their pick of the crop from St. Mary's, making Luke Shaw one of the world's most expensive teenagers in 2014 when he moved to Old Trafford for £24million. 

Arsenal actually kick-started the fun back in 2006 when they snapped up a 16-year-old Theo Walcott for around £12million, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain following for £15million in 2011. 

SOUTHAMPTON'S TRANSFER XI IN FULL: 

Paulo Gazzaniga (To Tottenham, 2017) - £1million 

Joined Tottenham in 2017 to be the club's third-choice goalkeeper behind Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm. Impressed by keeping a clean sheet on his debut against Crystal Palace in November. 

Nathaniel Clyne (To Liverpool, 2015) - £12.5million 

Currently out with an injury that has sidelined him since November, Clyne has made 93 appearances for Liverpool and scored twice. He faces a battle to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up when fit, with youngsters Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold impressing in his absence.

Luke Shaw (To Manchester United, 2014) - £25million 

Shaw was touted as one of the most promising youngsters in the country when he joined Manchester United in 2014. A devastating leg break in 2015 set him back and he's struggled to convince either Louis van Gaal or Jose Mourinho that he deserves a starting spot. He could be on his way out of Old Trafford in 2018.

Dejan Lovren (To Liverpool, 2014) - £20million 

A £20million arrival in 2014, Lovren was meant to add some steel to Liverpool's defence - however it hasn't quite worked out like that.  His place is likely to be under threat following the arrival of Van Dijk. 

Dejan Lovren has endured an up-and-down career at Liverpool and could soon be replaced

Virgil Van Dijk (To Liverpool, 2018) - £75million 

Now the most expensive defender in the world. Van Dijk cut a happy figure in his unveiling pictures with a Liverpool shirt than he has done in recent months when he has been left out of Southampton's matchday squad.

Toby Alderweireld (To Tottenham, 2015) - £11.5million 

The former Ajax man joined Tottenham in 2015 and is now considered one of the best defenders in the league and was named in the PFA Team of the Year for 2015/16. Currently out of action with a hamstring injury, the Belgian's future at Spurs is in doubt with contract talks dragging on. 

Victor Wanyama (To Tottenham, 2016) - £11million 

Another player to join Spurs for a modest fee, Wanyama helped the north London side finish second in the Premier League last season. He's also currently sidelined with an injury but could be back soon.

Victor Wanyama was one of the bargains of the season when he joined Tottenham for £11m

Adam Lallana (To Liverpool, 2014 ) - £25million 

Recently back from injury, Liverpool will be hoping the former Southampton man is as good as he was before his enforced break. 

The 29-year-old has made a total of 128 appearances for the Merseyside club since his 2014 switch. 

Morgan Schneiderlin (To Manchester United, 2015) - £24million 

Schneiderlin was meant to be the midfield general that Manchester United had been missing since Roy Keane, but it never really worked out. 

He made just 25 league appearances in one-and-a-half years at Old Trafford before the arrival of Nemanja Matic spelled the beginning of the end. He joined Everton for a fee that could reach £24million back in January.

Schneiderlin one of the league's best midfielders at Southampton but hasn't kicked on

Sadio Mane (To Liverpool, 2016) - £34million 

One of the biggest success stories to have come from Southampton. Mane is part of Liverpool's feared 'Fab Four' of attacking talent, helping the club to score 46 goals in 20 games this term. That tally is the second highest in the league behind Man City. 

His form will be key to Liverpool's top four hopes and their Champions League progression, especially if they lose Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona. 

Gareth Bale (To Tottenham, 2007) - £10million 

Bale's progression to one of the world's biggest stars has been bittersweet for Southampton, the club that nurtured him from a young age. 

He joined Tottenham for just £10million, where he became one of the best players in Europe. Real Madrid came calling in 2013 and splashed more than £80million to secure his services. 

While he's won two Champions Leagues and La Liga during his spell in Spain, injuries and a loss of form have prompted rumours he could be on his way back to England at some point soon. 

... and the subs:

Graziano Pelle (To SD Luneng, 2016) - £13million

Joined Chinese outfit SD Luneng in 2016 for £13million having impressed at Euro 2016 for Italy.

Graziano Pelle had a short spell at Saints before moving on to China to earn big wages

Calum Chambers (To Arsenal, 2014) £16million

Arsenal took a punt on young Chambers' talent in 2014 and he's since been on loan with Middlesbrough.  

Jay Rodriguez (To West Brom, 2017) £12million 

Having shone under Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton, a catastrophic injury threatened to derail his career. He sought a fresh start at the Hawthorns earlier this year.