Southampton announced on Wednesday that Virgil van Dijk is to join Liverpool on January 1 for what is a world record fee – widely reported to be £75m – for a defender, and the end of the long-running transfer saga should see Saints reignite their interest in Toulouse centre-back Christopher Jullien.

The Sun reported back in April that the south coast outfit were keen on the Frenchman if Van Dijk left St Mary's during the summer, but with the Dutch defender staying and former manager Claude Puel being sacked, a deal never materialised.

However, the departure of the 26-year-old to Anfield next month could see current boss Mauricio Pellegrino look to strengthen his defensive options, as they lie just two points above the relegation zone having conceded 30 goals in their 20 Premier League matches so far this season.

Pellegrino certainly looks to have a sizeable New Year budget, and bringing the 24-year-old to St Mary's could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Southampton must reignite their interest in Jullien following Van Dijk's departure…

Defensive options

Even though he wasn't at his best since his return from injury and the transfer saga during the summer, Van Dijk was still Southampton's best centre-back and his departure is a big loss.

Maya Yoshida and Wesley Hoedt showed in the draw against Huddersfield Town and the 5-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day that they might be the answer in the long-term, with the former potentially only good enough to be a back-up.

While Jack Stephens could step in, Jan Bednarek isn't ready and Florin Gardos looks unlikely to be involved anytime soon, meaning Pellegrino may be looking for a new centre-back.

With the attributes he has, Jullien could be the answer to Saints' defensive issues.

His qualities

At 6ft 5in tall, Jullien is slightly taller than Van Dijk and probably just as good in the air.

According to WhoScored.com, the 24-year-old has won 70 of the 89 aerial duels he has faced in 18 Ligue 1 appearances this season, while he has also won 30 tackles, and made 28 interceptions and 23 blocks.

While he certainly isn't able to bring the ball out of defence like the Dutchman often did for Southampton – which perhaps isn't too much of a problem given his likely defensive partners Hoedt and Stephens both can – he does still have an average passing success of 80.3%.

He has also shown how useful and threatening he can be in the opposition penalty area by having 16 efforts at goal, picking up one assist.

Price tag

Toulouse defender Christopher Jullien in action

Even though they have sold Van Dijk for such a huge fee, Southampton are not a club that will pay over the odds to get a replacement, and they will be wary of the inflated fees during the January transfer window.

Even though Jullien is Toulouse's captain and his contract isn't due to run out until 2021, the south coast club will still be confident that they could snap him up for a reasonably good price considering the Ligue 1 outfit don't have the biggest of budgets.

Middlesbrough signed Martin Braithwaite from them for €11m (around £10m) during the summer, and if Saints could get the 24-year-old for anything around that sort of price they would be delighted.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.