Van Dijk casts doubt on own Liverpool future after surprise Klopp departure
Virgil van Dijk admitted he does not know if he will be part of the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool as he waits on the club’s next move.
The Dutch defender and club captain has just 18 months left on his current contract at Anfield and his future is up in the air. Kop boss Klopp dropped the bombshell news on Friday that he’s leaving Liverpool this summer after what will be almost nine years in charge.
The Merseysiders are now in the hunt for a new manager with former midfielder Xabi Alonso the current front runner for the job. It is set to be a summer of major upheaval with Klopp’s assistants Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz also heading out the exit door along with the development coach Vitor Matos.
Sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will also leave this week when the January transfer window closes and a replacement will be needed before contract decisions are made. But Van Dijk, who turns 33 in July and will enter into the last year of his contract in the summer, is not sure what direction the club will go in.
When it was put to him that he has just 18 months left, he said: “That is correct - good maths. Listen, I don’t know. The club will have a big job on their hands, that is well known. To replace the manager and replace not only the manager, the staff is leaving, and there are so many things that will change.
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Van Dijk has 18 months left on his current deal (Paul Currie/REX/Shutterstock)“So the club has a big job on its hands and I am very curious which direction that will go in. But when that will be announced we will see our situation, I can’t say now.”
It could be interpreted that Van Dijk is waiting to see if the club are keen for him to extend given his age as the Reds have recently been reluctant to hand out long term deals to players in their 30s.
Or it could be that Van Dijk is wary of committing given his bond with the soon-to-be-departing Klopp and wants to know who will be the next man in charge. When asked if he sees himself as part of the new era, Van Dijk replied: “That’s a big question. Well, I don’t know.”
Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the campaign (Paul Currie/REX/Shutterstock)The Dutchman was initially reluctant to speak on his future but he is one of their key players whose contract is running down. Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Adrian are all out of contract at the club this summer. While deals with Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold expire at the end of next season.
Liverpool are still in the hunt for four trophies this season after they beat Norwich on Sunday in the FA Cup to set up a fifth-round tie against Watford or Southampton at home.
They’re currently top of the Premier League ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Chelsea while they also face the Blues in the Carabao Cup decider next month and are in the last-16 of the Europa League.
Van Dijk insists the focus remains on this season and ending the Klopp era in a glorious finale. He said: “Obviously it will be the end of Jurgen Klopp ’s era. I am very glad that I am still part of it.
“That is why I don’t like to speak about it. I am still part of it. That is my main focus now and we will see at the end of the season hopefully we have the success that we all dream of and fight for each and every day. By then there will probably be more clarification about what the club wants for the future and then we will see.”
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