Liverpool makes significant Virgil van Dijk contract decision as Arne Slot impact felt already – Liverpool.com

Liverpool has now appointed Arne Slot, but is reportedly prepared to delay another big call until the end of the year, with Virgil van Dijk’s future on hold.
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Liverpool will delay contract talks with Virgil van Dijk until the end of the year, it has been claimed. The center-back is entering the final year of his current deal.
Set to captain his side at Euro 2024, Van Dijk will turn 33 while away at the tournament, should the Netherlands still be in the running on July 8. That would require a trip to the semi-finals.
His age is one of the factors that presents Liverpool with something of a conundrum as Arne Slot begins a new era at the club. Nor is it the only issue in the in-tray, with fellow high-earners Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold also on contracts that will expire in the summer of 2025.
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Nonetheless, according to Football Insider, Liverpool is content to delay talks with Van Dijk until the end of the year. Transfer business will take priority in Slot's first summer, in a window where the Reds could even be searching for the Dutchman's long-term successor.
The plan is still to offer Van Dijk an extension, but the decision to delay is a significant one. The club captain will hope to prove at the Euros that he remains one of the continent's foremost operators in his position, and if a new offer from Liverpool is not forthcoming as he ticks towards the final six months of his deal, the situation becomes far more precarious.
It's at that point where Van Dijk would be able to talk to interested overseas parties about a potential free transfer at the end of the season. Again, Liverpool remains keen to avoid that scenario, but the apparent placing of the issue on the 'backburner' says something potentially interesting about the club's priorities.
As yet, there's no specific word on when talks with Salah and Alexander-Arnold will be pursued. However, it's thought that Liverpool wants both of them to play a part in the Slot era, with proposals of fresh terms expected in due course — even if exit rumors are swirling around the full-back.
Liverpool.com says: If this is nothing more than a logistical decision, it's fairly understandable. Van Dijk will be away for a lot of the summer, and once he's back at Liverpool, the season may well be underway.
At that point, Slot won't want any distractions. However, there could be few bigger distractions than the future of the club captain becoming a circus, so it's hardly ideal to be putting a new deal on hold.
That January date where clubs can start negotiating over a free transfer looks especially significant. If Liverpool can at least agree a new contract with Van Dijk before then, it will be a source of major comfort, offering some certainty and stability ahead of the run-in.

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