MOHAMMED Salisu expressed his admiration for Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk, admitting: "One day, I want to be like him."

The pair are set to go head-to-head this weekend when Saints make the tricky trip to Anfield.

After a slow start to his Saints career, Salisu, 22, has become a key part of the club's defence this season, standing out as one of their more impressive performers.

Van Dijk arrived at St Mary's a little further along in his development than Salisu did last season, joining from Celtic in 2015 aged 24, in a £13million deal.

He went on to play 80 times for Saints under three different managers in Ronald Koeman, Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino.

Liverpool then came calling in January 2018, the Dutchman making the move north for a world-record £75million, the most money ever paid for a defender at the time.

Van Dijk has enjoyed a glittering career on Merseyside, winning the Premier League, Champions League and being named the 2018-19 PFA Players' Player of the Year.

And Salisu, who joined Saints for a similar fee to that of van Dijk, hopes to emulate the Dutchman.

The Ghanaian ace said: "I think Virgil is a very good central defender and, I would say, is one of the very best central defenders in the world.

"One day, I want to be like him, especially with how he plays and the confidence he has and how he leads the team."