Liverpool fans have been given a significant update regarding the contract situation of one crucial player at Anfield.
Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk all see their current deals expire at the end of this season, with just over five weeks remaining until non-English suitors can approach the trio about potential pre-contract agreements.
However, one journalist has now indicated that the latter seems increasingly likely to continue his association with the Reds beyond next June.
According to GIVEMESPORT‘s senior transfer correspondent Dean Jones, Van Dijk now looks set to commit his future to Liverpool, with all parties involved in the contract negotiations ‘showing positive intent around extending his time at the club’.
The journalist wrote: ‘Though nothing has been formally signed yet, sources indicate that negotiations have been progressing in a manner that suggests optimism for a resolution.’
It’s added that the captain looks set to be the first of the aforementioned trio to have his future resolved, and with sources from inside Anfield suggesting that the 33-year-old could be offered a multi-year extension to his current deal, with both club and player ‘hoping to conclude an agreement’.
Following on from Manchester City’s heavy defeat to Tottenham yesterday, this update on Van Dijk’s contract situation provides Liverpool fans with more good news ahead of their clash against his former club Southampton this afternoon.
Prior to the clash at St Mary’s, he and Ryan Gravenberch are the only two Reds players to have been on the pitch for every minute of the Premier League season so far, a clear indicator of how much importance Slot has placed on his captain.
The defender continues to set standards at Anfield, with the second-best pass success rate of anyone to have started for us in the top flight this term (91.4%), along with winning the most aerial duels, making the most clearances and averaging the second-most interceptions per game (WhoScored).
If Liverpool can get Van Dijk tied down to a new contract in the coming days, it’d leave Richard Hughes free to focus on securing a resolution for Salah and Trent before the end of December, thus preventing any fear of other clubs striking an agreement in January.
After weeks (maybe even months) of uncertainty on this front, it finally looks as though there might be a big breakthrough soon regarding the Reds’ number 4, which’ll hopefully pave the way for the other two situations to get sorted before long.
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