Liverpool Captain Van Dijk's Contract Talks Make Progress, Easing Transfer Burden

Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk makes progress on a new contract, potentially easing the club's transfer burden amid the impending departures of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has confirmed that progress has been made in contract talks with the club ahead of the summer transfer window. Following Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Fulham on Saturday, Van Dijk revealed that discussions have been ongoing, although he remained cautious about the outcome. As the Dutchman approaches his 34th birthday in July, speculation about his future at the club has grown. 

Van Dijk expressed his affection for the club and its fans, saying, “There is progress, yeah. I don’t know, we’ll see. Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see.” He emphasized his commitment to the team, adding, “I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again and we wanted to reward them at Fulham.” Van Dijk concluded by expressing his desire for the fans to continue supporting the team, saying, “But want I them to be there against West Ham on Sunday again and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”

🚨 Virgil van Dijk on new contract: “There is progress, yeah”.

“These are internal discussions, I love the club, I love Liverpool, I love the fans”. pic.twitter.com/DIVc9UE9og

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 7, 2025

Liverpool is bracing for the potential departure of key players Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of the season, prompting manager Arne Slot to search for suitable replacements. However, with promising developments in contract negotiations with Virgil Van Dijk, the club may not need to splurge as much during the upcoming transfer window. 

The 33-year-old Dutch defender has acknowledged the team's subpar performance in their recent 3-2 loss to Fulham, candidly stating that they simply weren't good enough. This admission highlights the challenges facing Slot as he prepares to rebuild the team, but retaining Van Dijk could provide a significant boost in terms of defensive stability and leadership.

On to Sunday 👊 pic.twitter.com/7jOhMcdmfH

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 7, 2025

“It was a poor day at the office for all of us. I think they were individual moments that should have been dealt with better. In games, these moments can happen but if you let them back in, they obviously scored three goals and we were on the back foot. 

“No one can ever be perfect and we were sloppy and today we got punished quickly and like I said then it’s a difficult battle to play. We still had the belief, still had opportunities but, based on the first half, you can’t argue with the result.”