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Virgil van Dijk and his team have so far been ‘unwilling to consider interest’ from other clubs amid contract talks at Liverpool, but that could be about to change. Van Dijk is out of contract at the end of the season, along with Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold , and despite being close to agreeing new terms last summer, an extension to his contract is yet to be agreed. While reports of Alexander-Arnold leaving for Real Madrid have been widespread and Salah has broken ranks to publicly decry the lack of talks with the Reds, Van Dijk has consistently batted away all speculation over his future to focus on the task at hand.
Liverpool are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League and are among the favourites to win the Champions League having cruised through the group phase to earn a draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16. Van Dijk’s outstanding form has played a significant role in their brilliance under Arne Slot in his debut season at the helm. TBR Football confirm that while ‘Van Dijk is keen to remain at Anfield there is no deal on offer suitable to both parties’.
And although he and his team ‘have been unwilling to seriously listen or consider interest from elsewhere’, it’s claimed that ‘interest is increasing’ to sound ‘alarm bells’ at Liverpool . Van Dijk’s camp has been ‘alerted to the increasing interest’, with the Saudi Pro League and MLS predictably keen to land the Dutchman, though several European giants are also queuing up to acquire his services this summer. The report claims Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are ‘the clubs in the picture’.
MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365 👉 Ranking Champions League favourites after last-16 draw: Aston Villa above Arsenal 👉 Liverpool face ‘two notable hurdles’ with ‘plans underway’ for £74m defender to join club in summer 👉 Carragher names three Liverpool players Arne Slot ‘doesn’t trust’ ahead of the title run-in Liverpool take on Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday in a game which has frequently been dubbed a tittle decider in recent seasons, but not in this case with Pep Guardiola’s side a whopping 17 points adrift of the league-leaders. Despite City’s struggled, Van Dijk “expects a difficult game”. “They have the quality to hurt you and I expect a very difficult game like we have always played against each other, very intense and Sunday will be just like that,” the Dutch defender said.
“Hopefully we can get the three points there.” Asked if he feels City’s season is a blip and it will be back to challenge for the title again next year, Van Dijk replied: “I think they have fantastic players still, and a fantastic manager. They have the quality to be there.
“They have been winning Premier Leagues so many years in a row, and it’s very difficult to keep that consistency, but they have been doing it. Unfortunately [for them] now they are not showing as much as they want to, but I still consider them a very good team and they deserve that respect as well.” READ MORE: Big Weekend: Man City v Liverpool, Chelsea, Amorim, Wood, Sheff Utd v Leeds, Bayern Munich After taking five points from games against Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Aston Villa, it has opened the opportunity for Arsenal to further chip away at Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table.
“I knew this period would be a very different one like everyone did because we mentioned it to each other. I don’t think it’s that much of a disappointment. “We are all winners, and there are moments in games where you can win them, but before the game, we had no points, and from the three matches, we now have five points, and the focus will be on the next one.
All we do is focus on ourselves and don’t look at others because there’s no point. It’s the only way to get success. “We are in the decisive part of the season and other teams are as well.
Every game in the Premier League is hard work, we know that and we have seen it. Obviously, I experienced it over the last couple of years. We just have to keep going.
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