Virgil van Dijk reportedly ‘wants to play for Barcelona’ and ‘leaves the door open’ for the La Liga side amid ‘three offers to leave’ Liverpool this summer.
The Liverpool skipper’s contract expires in the summer along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, and although reports last week claimed Salah and Van Dijk had agreed new deals, manager Arne Slot set the record straight.
Slot revealed: “We have some contractual situations that you don’t probably don’t know about.
“But Trent, Mo and Virgil haven’t extended yet. So we are aware of the fact that we have to be sharp and ready for things that can happen.
“My life is mainly short term but we have so many quality people at this club that look at the longer term as well. You always have to be prepared for all the new things coming up.
“The players that don’t play a big part at the moment; will they be able to do this another year? Will they fight for their place or will they [want to] go somewhere else? So we have to be prepared for the next window and what we can do.”
A report earlier on Monday claimed that Van Dijk is ‘determined to explore a new challenge in his career, aware that this is his last big chance to sign a major contract at an elite club.’
The Dutchman has ‘three strong offers he already has on the table: Real Madrid , Bayern Munich and Juventus want to sign him, attracted not only by his quality, but also by the opportunity to sign him at zero cost.’
Serie A side Juventus and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are ‘not far behind’ Real Madrid in the race to sign Van Dijk for nothing in the summer.
His ‘departure from Liverpool seems increasingly imminent and the interest of these three European giants predicts an intense fight for his signature’, with that battling presumably ramped up a notch or two by Barcelona also being in the running.
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The fresh report in Spain claims Van Dijk has been ‘seduced’ by Barcelona and ‘leaves the doors open’ to his transfer to the Nou Camp in the summer.
The 33-year-old ‘would love to play’ under Hansi Flick next season in a huge blow for Liverpool, who have had the pleasure of the centre-back’s best form this season.
Reds legend Jamie Carragher said recently that Van Dijk often doesn’t look like he’s breaking a sweat while defending against the best in the world.
“He’s too good for the highest level of football. It’s almost like it’s still too easy for him. It almost feels like there should be another level above that for Van Dijk because he plays the game with such ease,” Carragher said.
“I watched him here against Haaland – the best goalscorer around, a big, powerful lad who’s got pace – and it doesn’t even feel like [Van Dijk] is trying. Has he sprinted in the game tonight?”
