As he enters the final months of his current contract, Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk is starting to attract interest from abroad, with AC Milan reportedly keen to bring the Dutchman to Italy next summer.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been a constant presence in the Reds squad for 10 seasons, and from arriving as a £75 million defender to being nominated and finishing runner-up in the 2019 Ballon d'Or, the Dutchman will go down as one of the greatest to ever play for the football club.
Aged 35, Van Dijk remains an integral part of this LFC team, playing in every game last season, and often taking the responsibility og facing the media off the back of poor results under former manager Arne Slot.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsBut as the centre-half closes in on the final few months of his current Liverpool contract, questions are starting to be asked about whether or not the defender will still be on Merseyside this time next year.
Should LFC Give VVD a New Contract?
The debate will grow stronger in the weeks and months to come over whether or not the club should be offering Virgil van Dijk a new deal, after all, he is still playing consistently at a very high level and will offer invaluable experience to a youthful backline and team in general.
But, given his age and the quantity of football he has played in the last decade, it is only natural for people, including the Reds hierarchy, to have their doubts or reservations about committing such a large amount of money to a new deal for the skipper.
Virgil is currently earning a reported £350,000 a week on his current deal, which works out to be around £18 million per year, and many would suspect that should a new deal be offered by LFC, then that number will either stay the same or reduce.
REUTERS/David KleinSo that would be a big chunk of money that would be committed to a player who will be 36 going into next season.
However, Virgil van Dijk is an elite-level athlete and has looked after himself physically throughout his career. Therefore, he may still have another three or four years at the top level left in him.
Take Thiago Silva, for example; he joined Chelsea at the age of 36 and was one of the club's best players for the four years he spent in London. So if Thiago Silva can have that positive impact at 36 and above, then so can Van Dijk.
His quality, leadership and knowledge of what it takes to succeed will only be a benefit for Iraola's side, and the Dutchman is a standard setter in the dressing room, with players looking up to the talismanic defender.
Reuters/Paul ChildsBut the longer new sporting director Julian Ward and the rest of the Anfield decision makers take to make a decision on the future of Liverpool's club captain, the higher the risk that another top European club comes in and signs him on a free transfer next summer.
What Has Been Reported?
According to Carlo Pellegatti, Italian giants AC Milan are preparing a move to sign Virgil Van Dijk on a free transfer when his current LFC contract comes to an end next summer.
Then Carlo Pellegatti was speaking to Football Italia about Van Dijk to AC Milan being a concrete possibility:
"Every now and then, people make fun of me for saying Van Dijk would join, but then they had done the same the January before Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived.
"I continue to say that Gerry Cardinale (Milan’s owner) made clear: ‘Either we get him now by paying or next year for free.’ I said that Van Dijk will arrive at Milan sooner or later.
"We’ll see if Cardinale changes his mind or not, but I can assure you it was not just a name I pulled out of thin air."
Comment Below: Would You Give Virgil van Dijk a New Contract at Liverpool?
