Liverpool pause Virgil van Dijk contract talks
Football Insider has revealed that Liverpool have currently paused contract extension talks with Virgil van Dijk despite Arne Slot’s insistence of keeping hold of his compatriot in the longer run.
The former Southampton centre-back’s deal at Anfield is due to expire at the end of next season and although the Reds plan on offering a fresh deal to van Dijk, they will begin formal negotiations at the backend of 2024.
Liverpool are currently focusing on acquiring newer players in the summer transfer window and it is expected that a marquee central defender arrives at Anfield before the 2024/25 campaign gets underway.
Sporting Lisbon’s Gonzalo Inacio has emerged as a concrete option in recent weeks. While Manchester United are also interested in the Portuguese international, Liverpool are still being considered the front-runners.
Of late, Arne Slot’s Feyenoord captain Lutsharel Geertruida’s name has also been mooted. His contract expires in June 2025 and the Eredivisie club is ready to sell him this summer.
While Virgil van Dijk’s contract will cause anxiety among the club’s supporters as it continues to run down, it only seems like a matter of time before his extension is officially announced.
His importance to the side cannot be understated and while his qualities have understandably deteriorated in recent years, the Dutch international remains one of the world’s best central defenders anyways.
With van Dijk also confirming his desire to stay with the Premier League giants, the Merseysiders are under no pressure whatsoever to immediately prioritise talks with the 32-year-old.
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Moreover, given that he is a very senior figure in the dressing room, it would be remiss of the board as well to let go of him easily in the midst of a squad rebuild.
