Liverpool’s captain Virgil Van Dijk has stalled his contract extension talks with the board which sparked exit rumours regarding him.
Arne Slot has been appointed as the new manager of Liverpool FC after a 9 years spell of Jurgen Klopp. Since Klopp’s departure, the fans were worried regarding some of their important players. They feared that some of their important players might leave this summer as a free agent.
There are mainly three important key players of Liverpool – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohammed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk. All of them only have a year left in their contract. The board have held regular talks with them to extend their contract. But one of them have stalled the talks which sparked rumours regarding a club exit and it’s the club captain Virgil Van Dijk.
The situation regarding Van Dijk
The 32-year-old Dutch captain is currently playing for his national side in the Euro 2024. He has already won his first game against Poland is getting ready to play against France on 21st June. Right now, he is fully focused with his national side and don’t want to distract himself with any other thing.
At Liverpool, fans are very tensed with Van Dijk. They don’t want him to leave the club right now, as the club recently parted their ways with Joel Matip. The stalling of contract extension has sparked exit rumours regarding the Dutchman. But at this moment, the Reds can’t let Van Dijk leave the club as they don’t have any senior player of his stature at the club.
The Saudi League teams are keeping an eye on the contract renewal situation of Van Dijk. There have been many interests for him that have come from Saudi Arabia. One of them is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. It is rumoured that ex-Manchester City player Aymeric Laporte might part ways with the Saudi giants. To replace him, Al Nassr wants Virgil Van Dijk in their squad and finish the next season as league champions. The deals from the Saudi teams are very concrete and they are all very positive that they can sign the Dutch captain from Liverpool. It’s all up to the player whether he wants to stay or leave and move to a whole different shape and environment of football.
Read more: – Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures are out
Liverpool can’t let go of Van Dijk right now
Liverpool are in a very tough situation right now. At the end of the previous season, Joel Matip left the club as a free agent. If Van Dijk leaves the club, there won’t be any defender of his quality in the squad. Van Dijk’s understanding of the game and positioning himself is what makes him standout. Apart from his gamestyle, his leadership and role would help both the new manager and players during the transition period. Liverpool need to maintain their core so that it can help them maintain their form while going through a new playing system.
A fun fact: Virgil Van Dijk has played against Arne Slot during his time at Groningen.
As featured on WalkOn.comFor more football updates, make sure to follow us on:
