Anfield Watch
·18 September 2024
Anfield Watch
·18 September 2024
Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk has been a fantastic servant to the club since he joined in 2018, but his time in Merseyside could soon be coming to an end.
The 33-year-old has less than a year remaining on his current deal and if no agreement is reached over an extension, could leave Merseyside for free at the end of this season.
Although Liverpool are reportedly keen to kick-off negotiations over a new deal, there is no guarantee that the two parties will be able to come to an agreement and this could be Virgil’s last season at Anfield.
As well as captaining the Reds, Van Dijk is also the Dutch national team captain and has played over 270 times for Liverpool since he signed. In that time Van Dijk has been recognised as one of the best defenders in the world and even won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in 2019.
Speaking to TalkSport, legendary Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf has had his say on Van Dijk’s contract situation.
“Amazing career that [Van Dijk]’s had, he’s still so important for the Dutch national team as well. I mean, everything can happen – right – at this stage of the career.
“You can expect him to leave but I would also not be surprised if Liverpool would try to keep him, y’know, because experience you can’t buy that easy and he’s still very fit. So let’s see what’s going to happen at the end of the season.”
Seedorf played 87 times for the Dutch national team, made over 400 appearances for AC Milan and made 159 appearances for Real Madrid.
Seedorf’s comments are not confirmation that Van Dijk will definitely leave Liverpool but are a warning that it could be a possibility.
Liverpool have traditionally been against giving big contract extensions to players over the age of 30 and Van Dijk may want more security than a short-term deal.
It looks like Liverpool are willing to break that convention for Mohamed Salah, who is also out of contract at the end of the season, but it is currently unclear whether the club would be willing to offer their skipper a long-term deal.
There are sure to be a number of clubs interested in Van Dijk if he does leave Liverpool and supporters will be hoping that their captain puts pen to paper on a new deal to extend his stay at Anfield.
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