Liverpool are growing increasingly confident they will soon reach an agreement over a new contract with captain Virgil van Dijk with all parties wanting to extend the arrangement and with only the terms of the deal now needing to be ironed out, TEAMtalk understands.
The Dutch defender has proved a vital component of the Liverpool defence and a major factor in the success they have enjoyed in recent years since his £75m move to Anfield from Southampton in January 2018. A Champions League winner just 18 months after signing, Van Dijk has also helped the Reds to Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup glory (twice) since moving to Merseyside.
However, just like teammates Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk finds himself out of contract at Anfield come the end of the current season and eligible to negotiate with overseas sides from January 1 – just 71 days from now.
The 33-year-old, though, has made crystal clear his desire to stay and now the Reds skipper has gone public again to confirm talks are underway over an extension to that arrangement.
“I can say discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know what happens in the future,” Van Dijk told the media. “My very full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else.
“What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions are ongoing with the right people and when it’s time to make a decision or whatever, I think you guys [the media] will know it as well.
“But now full commitment and focus is on Liverpool and to be successful this season. So we will see.”
READ MORE ~ The key contract details of every Liverpool first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
What is Van Dijk hoping for to stay at Anfield?
Now 33 and in the autumn of his career, Van Dijk turn 34 by the time the 2025/26 season rolls around. At that stage of a career, most players are either seen as being past their best or ready to wind down their playing days.
However, the form of the centre-half over the past 12 months suggests he remains very much at the peak of his powers and he remains one of the best defenders in both the Premier League and the world game.
Van Dijk himself also describes himself as “feeling very good physically and mentally” – a fact borne out by the fact Liverpool have won 10 of their 11 games under new head coach Arne Slot, conceding a mere five goals across those matches.
As a result, Liverpool are understood to be very much in favour of extending his stay and we understand Van Dijk is asking for a two-year extension, running through to summer 2027 and the ripe old age of 36.
Whether Liverpool agree to that remains to be seen and they are more likely to suggest a one-year extension through to 2026, potentially with a one-year option on top of that.
Van Dijk is currently the Reds’ second highest-earner on £220,000 a week and it’s understood he is looking for that to be matched if he is to sign an extension.
Either way, we revealed last week there is a ‘calmness and confidence’ at Anfield that an agreement will soon be reached that will suit both parties.
Latest Liverpool transfer news: Slot targets Man Utd slayer / Barcelona star eyed
Meanwhile, Liverpool are being linked with a 2025 move for FC Porto striker Samu Omorodion, who has begun life in Portugal with seven goals in seven games. Two of those came in a Europa League clash against Manchester United and reports in Spain claim Arne Slot is targeting his big-money signing next year after growing impatient with a costly Jurgen Klopp signing.
Elsewhere, the Reds are reportedly big admirers of Brighton’s Argentine star Facundo Buonanotte following his excellent start to the season while on loan at Leicester. Manchester City are also admirers of the teenager and it’s claimed the Seagulls could be tempted to do business if their sizeable asking price is met and with Liverpool looking into a future deal.
And finally, suggestions that Alexander-Arnold could depart for LaLiga are refusing to die down – in the Spanish press at least!
Real Madrid have long been seen as favourites for his signature but a new report on Monday claims Barcelona are now gunning for his signing, with the Reds targeting the capture of a €50m-rated Barcelona star in return.
Van Dijk has been a monster for Liverpool
The trophies Van Dijk has won at Liverpool, and how much he played on their road to winning them
After arriving midway through the 2017-18 season, Van Dijk became part of a side that reached the Champions League final under Jurgen Klopp, although they lost to Real Madrid on that occasion. It proved, though, to be the fuel for their pursuit of the trophy the following season.
By the end of Van Dijk’s first full season as a Liverpool player, he was lifting the Champions League trophy after a victory over Tottenham. The Dutch defender only missed one game on the road to Madrid, and that was just because of a suspension for accumulated yellow cards.
And before 2019 was out, Van Dijk played in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup final to add two more medals to his Liverpool collection, not to mention the PFA Player of the Year award on an individual level.
2019-20 was memorably the year in which Liverpool won their first title of the Premier League era, and Van Dijk didn’t miss a single minute, leading to him being named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the second season running.
A further four domestic trophies followed before Klopp’s exit, with Van Dijk getting his hands on the League Cup twice, the FA Cup once and the Community Shield once. He started each of those finals, including as captain for the last honour of the Klopp reign, the 2023-24 Carabao Cup.
It is no coincidence that, out of the full seasons since Van Dijk has been on the books, the only season Liverpool didn’t win anything was the 2020-21 season, in which he was absent for a long stretch due to injury.
He has been an instrumental part of Liverpool’s success and it’s fair to assume that winning some of those trophies would have been a lot harder without him.
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