Virgil van Dijk‘s Liverpool contract will expire at the end of the season and there has been no positive update regarding a new deal, so let’s take a look back at everything he has said so far.
Incredibly, we could be just a few months short of seeing our captain lift the Premier League trophy and bid farewell at the same time as his future remains unresolved.
Along with Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool find themselves in a position of losing three key players in one summer, and it has cast an enormous shadow over the season.
Van Dijk has been vocal throughout the campaign on his situation but his latest comments have proved the most alarming, though it could be a tactic to get the club to table an appropriate offer.
With that said, let’s take a look at how Van Dijk has handled the situation since last summer.
August: “I’m very calm”
“I’m very calm, very calm,” he said. “The thing is I want to play the best season I can, again. I want to be important and stay important for the club.
“Whatever happens next year, we’ll see. Everything happens for a reason, that’s how I see it.
“And for now there’s been no changes in my situation, but I’m very calm about it and there’s no reason for me to start thinking for something else.
“I have a whole season to play for still and hopefully it will be a successful one.”
September: “The big leader”
Speaking about his role for club and country, Van Dijk said: “At both teams, I am still Virgil van Dijk, the big leader, and I certainly want to remain that for the next two years.
“I am very much important, on and off the pitch. I don’t like to say that about myself, but I am. The responsibility at the club and at the national team is still super big.”
October: “Discussions are ongoing”
“I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know, we will see what happens in the future,” he said.
“My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else.
“What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started up and we will see.
“What the future brings I have no idea at the moment, but like I said in my previous answer, discussions are ongoing with the right people and when it’s time to make a decision or whatever, I think you guys (the media) will know it as well.”
December: “No change at all”
After suggestions in the media and online that an announcement was imminent, Van Dijk insisted: “Honestly, no.
“There is no change at all, there is no update at all, there is no news for the outside world. So I have nothing to share.
“[I understand the curiosity] but there is nothing at all, it is all untrue.”
December: “No deadline”
“There is no deadline at all,” Van Dijk stressed ahead of January 1, a date which he would be allowed to talk to foreign clubs.
“We will see what the future brings.”
January: “No idea”
“I have no idea [how many more appearances I’ll make],” he conceded. “How many are left this season? Hopefully, those are guaranteed and then I don’t know what the future will bring.”
February: ‘Information in the next couple of months’
“What will happen in the future, I have no idea, but I think in the next couple of months it will definitely be some information out,” he said.
“I want to make sure that this team is successful and that’s my main focus at the moment and I can’t speak obviously about personal conversations – that has been going on for a while.
“But I can only say that I’m fully committed to the club. I’ve mentioned it before, I love the club. I’ve had such an amazing time already and let’s see what the future brings, but as long I’m calm I think the rest of the world can stay calm as well.
“And when there is a definite answer on my future, then it will probably be out.”
March: “Maybe I will run this fully down”
“Maybe I will run this fully down and then there is still no news, I don’t know,” he admitted.
“But I don’t want to create any anxiety or anything like that, I just keep my head down and focus on hopefully winning the next 10 games.
“I am sure by the end of the season there will be news. But what kind of news I am not sure.
“It’s not a one-two-three discussion and there we go. There are multiple factors and as long as I am calm to you guys (the media) then there is no need to panic, whatever may happen in the future.
“If I was worried you would see me playing a little bit worried and that is not the case.
“I am fully committed to Liverpool Football Club at the moment and there is no doubt about that.
“I love the fans, the fans love me, and I’ll keep working. I feel in one of the best shapes I’ve been in my career and you’ve been seeing that.
“I enjoy playing, I enjoy leading the boys out, I enjoy being there for each and every one. I feel that responsibility even more than ever, maybe because I’m getting older slowly. I feel fine. We’ll see what happens in the future.”
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