Following Joel Matip’s departure as a free agent this summer, Liverpool didn’t opt to purchase a new defender to replace the Cameroonian.
So, Arne Slot has started the season with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez as the center-back options. But, while Quansah is still very young, Konate has had his fitness problems over the last few years.
News – Player reveals he actually agreed transfer to Liverpool in summer
Moreover and most importantly, Van Dijk has entered the final year of his current contract at Liverpool and hasn’t signed an extension yet. Therefore, uncertainty surrounding his future continues to grow and it is apparent that the defensive department is an area of concern for the Reds at the moment.
GiveMeSport states that European giants like Juventus and Inter Milan have started lining-up to make a swoop to sign Van Dijk by taking advantage of his current situation.
The Italian giants are keeping a close eye on the Dutchman’s situation at the moment before stepping up their efforts to agree on a pre-contract agreement with him in January if he doesn’t extend his deal with Slot’s side over the coming months.
Van Dijk currently earns around £220,000-a-week(£11.4m-a-year) at Liverpool hence Juventus or Inter might be able to acquire his service by giving an increment to his current financial package if they can manage to lure him for free.
However, the report says that Liverpool are expected to agree on fresh terms with the defender and they have been handed a renewed hope that they’ll be able to do that following the 33-year-old’s admission that he wants to remain at the club.
Van Dijk is still one of the best center-backs in the world and it would be a huge loss if Liverpool fail to tie him down to a fresh deal. What do you think?
