Liverpool head trainer Arne Slot has addressed the inevitable long run of the membership with out captain Virgil van Dijk, insisting that whilst the defender stays important, the hierarchy is already getting ready for a transition.
Talking forward of a crurcial conflict with Manchester Town, Slot emphasized that Liverpool’s recruitment technique is in line with long-term steadiness quite than reactive “panic.”
The feedback come at the heels of the Reds securing a €60 million deal for Rennes’ 20-year-old sensation Jeremy Jacquet, broadly considered because the long-term successor to the Dutch massive.
Slot lays out Liverpool plan for Virgil van Dijk(Photograph by means of Stu Forster/Getty Pictures)
Slot used to be candid in regards to the truth of growing old stars, noting that whilst Van Dijk’s present contract runs till June 2027, the membership will have to glance forward.
Talking to the media forward of the sport towards Town, he mentioned (by the use of BBC Game): “Everything done over here is never from panic, it’s always long term idea and or something that has been thought about for a long time and not only one person.
“Of course, we are aware of the fact that Virgil won’t play for 10 years but he has one-and-a-half years [of] contract left, so he will be with us for that time, maybe longer even longer if he keeps staying fit as fit as he is now.
“What a compliment to him at his age to play every three days, not only now for our club but for his country for seven or eight months already.
“Hopefully, he can stay as fit as he is for multiple years but this club is not stupid. We do know somewhere in the upcoming years, there is life for this club after Virgil.
“You are talking about Virgil but I can say this for every position. This club is not only thinking short-term future but also the mid to long-term future.”
? “There is life for this club without Virgil.”
Arne Slot addresses Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool long run. percent.twitter.com/xOPKNTKrGt
Van Dijk has been an excellent servant for Liverpool
Since his transformative £75 million transfer from Southampton in 2018, Virgil Van Dijk has anchored essentially the most a success duration in Liverpool’s fashionable historical past.
Having led the staff to Premier League and Champions League titles, his affect stays immense.
Even at 34, his statistics stay elite. This season, he has received extra aerial duels (119) than every other defender within the Premier League.
Van Dijk can play at elite degree for some other a number of years
In spite of the membership signing more youthful reinforcements like Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, Van Dijk’s health proves he can proceed enjoying on the most sensible degree for some other a number of years.
The chief prompt that so long as the health ranges dangle, an extension past 2027 is a real risk.
Class
Stat
Appearances (All Competitions)
353 (ongoing)
Targets (All Competitions)
31
Assists (All Competitions)
16
Blank Sheets
130+
Premier League Titles
2 (2019–20, 2024–25)
UEFA Champions League
1 (2018–19)
FA Cup
1 (2021–22)
League Cup
2 (2022, 2024)
FA Neighborhood Defend
1 (2022)
UEFA Tremendous Cup
1 (2019)
FIFA Membership Global Cup
1 (2019)
Along with his management within the dressing room and his unrivaled studying of the sport, Van Dijk stays the gold usual.
Whilst the membership is properly construction the mid-to-long-term long run, the fast precedence stays targeted across the guy who redefined the Liverpool protection.
