According to reports, Liverpool have made a U-turn on a new contract for captain Virgil van Dijk amid interest from Real Madrid.
Van Dijk’s long-term future is in doubt because he has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool.
For a while, it had been assumed that Van Dijk would depart Liverpool upon the expiry of his contract this summer, but it remains to be seen whether that will be the case.
The Dutchman has looked like a once-great player past his best at times over the past couple of seasons, though he has returned to form at the start of this campaign.
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This is partly because he has a far more dependable partner in Jeremy Jacquet after Ibrahima Konate struggled last season. With that, journalist Pete O’Rourke is reporting for Football Insider that Van Dijk ‘could now extend his Liverpool deal’ and the club are ‘open’ to a new contract.
Real Madrid keen on signing Virgil van Dijk
He has interest from Real Madrid, though. The report says:
‘Football Insider revealed on 3 October that Real Madrid have set their sights on a deal for Van Dijk in case he does not put pen to paper on a renewed contract.
‘Los Blancos have been long-term admirers of the centre-back and have long plotted to bring him to the Bernabeu, with his potential availability placing them on high alert.’
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On Van Dijk, O’Rourke has explained why Van Dijk could be the “master of his own destiny” heading into the summer.
“A lot depends on what happens with Van Dijk’s contract situation,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.
“He still has a role to play for Liverpool. He’s still playing every week and he is the club captain as well, so I think Van Dijk is probably the master of his own destiny here.
“If he continues to perform well for Liverpool there’s every chance that he could get a new deal and they could look to keep him at the club.
“There is still a long way to go on this one. I think if he continues to perform at a high level, then Liverpool will want to sit down and discuss his plans going forward.
“But as I said, he’s the master of his own destiny, and the fact that he will be a free agent in the summer if there’s no new deal on the tail from Liverpool means he can probably have his pick of where he wants to continue his career.”
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