Virgil van Dijk reveals talks with Arne Slot over Liverpool future
Virgil van Dijk admits he has spoken with incoming Liverpool manager Arne Slot about his future at the club.
Van Dijk is heading into the final year of his contract at Anfield and had even been tipped to follow Jurgen Klopp out the exit door this summer as Liverpool head into a new era under the former Feyenoord boss.
„I still have one year left on my contract,“ Van Dijk vowed to NOS. „Nothing will change. I am captain of the club and I have made that clear. I am there for the manager and I am looking forward to the new season.“
Asked whether he had spoken with Slot already, Van Dijk admitted: „Yes. What did I say? How are you? No, we talked about everything and anything.
„We talked about our personal situations, I congratulated him. I am very happy for him and his family. And also for Sipke [Hulshoff, Slot’s assistant]. I talked to [Slot] about everything and anything: the national team, some things that are going on now, the future…
„He also made it clear to me: my focus must be entirely on the Dutch team and on the European Championship. After that, the focus is on a short break and then on Liverpool.“
Van Dijk recently admitted he has faith in Liverpool’s decision-makers to choose a suitable successor to Klopp, following right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in offering his support to Slot.
Both Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold are approaching the final 12 months of their respective contracts and will have to hold talks with club officials in the coming months for resolutions over their futures.
Real Madrid are monitoring Alexander-Arnold’s future but 90min understands both the right-back and Liverpool’s hierarchy are completely relaxed about the situation and happy to delay things until the new manager and boardroom are firmly in place.
Alexander-Arnold remains happy with Liverpool but will want to ensure he agrees with the vision of the new-look Reds before making any concrete decisions.