John Aldridge has now claimed that Virgil van Dijk will be deserving of another contract at Liverpool if he can maintain his current form.
The Dutchman was handed the captaincy in the summer of 2023 following the departure of former skipper Jordan Henderson.
The 33-year-old has appeared to come on leaps and bounds since that point, helping lead the Merseysiders to the top of the Premier League table so far in 2024/25. As such, the ex-Red believes the centre-half – and not Gabriel Agbonlahor’s pick of Ryan Gravenberch – has been Liverpool’s player of the season.
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“For me, Van Dijk has been Liverpool’s player of the season so far,” the former Republic of Ireland international wrote in his column for the ECHO (via X).
“He looks fit, is right on top of his game, and I do think he has improved further having been handed the captaincy.
“If he wants another contract then the club will surely give it to him if he keeps up this kind of form. He is doing his case no harm at all.”
The No.4 has been dominant in the backline for Liverpool this season, helping keep clean sheets in all but three games he played a part in.
Whilst lauding Ryan Gravenberch for what has been a tremendous campaign so far, we’re perhaps a little guilty of, as Aldridge notes, taking our skipper for granted.
That’s not to suggest we’re unappreciative of Van Dijk’s quality – far from it. However, we’ve certainly become used to such high standards and the importance of his presence is ever-noted during periods of absence on the pitch.
Whilst his Dutch compatriot is undoubtedly enjoying a new lease of life under new head coach Arne Slot, our resilience at the back is down in large part to our No.4’s own stellar form. He’s dominant in the air (aerial duel win rate of 68.8% in the league, according to FBref) and is rarely beaten (dribbled past 0.2 times per game in the league, according to Sofascore).
33 is a tricky age to work around in the world of contracts, though certainly much less so for defenders and goalkeepers compared to their outfield peers.
The club has a wage structure it’s particularly keen to keep in mind – and for good reason judging by multiple PSR messes across the country.
That said, Virgil van Dijk remains a key part of this Liverpool 2.0 outfit and his powers show no signs of waning in the near future.
You can absolutely understand why we’re at least keen to open talks over a contract extension and discuss what the future could entail.
Our captain, for his part, equally seems keen to talk about lengthening his Liverpool stay.
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