Virgil van Dijk delivers update on his Liverpool future - and reveals there is 'progress' on Reds contract talks

Virgil van Dijk insists determination is advancement successful his declaration saga and determination should beryllium an result soon.

Liverpool person stormed to 11 points wide successful the Premier League rubric contention but determination has been a shadiness of uncertainty looming implicit their play with 3 of their champion players retired of declaration this summer: Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Van Dijk has been repeatedly asked astir his aboriginal this play and has present fixed an denotation that it is reaching a conclusion.

Asked if determination was progress, helium said: ‘There is progress, yeah.’

Pushed to elaborate if that meant helium was staying astatine Liverpool, the skipper replied: ‘I don’t know, we’ll see.’

When quizzed further by Mail Sport asking what helium meant by ‘progress’, Van Dijk laughed – helium often does erstwhile asked astir his declaration arsenic determination is simply a moving gag that helium is asked each week without a definitive reply – and said: ‘Listen, these are interior discussions and we’ll see.

‘I emotion the club, I emotion the fans and they were determination for america again (at Fulham). We wanted to reward them but I inquire them to beryllium determination again connected Sunday and marque the stadium an astonishing venue similar ever for us.’

Of the alleged Contract Three, Van Dijk and Salah person ever been seen arsenic much apt to enactment than Alexander-Arnold. The close backmost has an connection connected the array from Real Madrid and it is wide thought helium volition extremity up successful the Spanish capital, though thing is officially signed yet.

There was tons of speech past week astir Salah being adjacent to signing, with plentifulness successful his location state of Egypt getting excited. Those suggestions were somewhat premature, though determination is simply a feeling that Salah volition yet motion on.

In an interrogation past month, Van Dijk spoke of his adoration for the nine and talked astir his settled household beingness successful the northbound west. Boss Arne Slot has gone connected grounds to accidental however overmuch helium would similar his skipper to enactment put.

The Dutchman, meanwhile, reckons that Liverpool’s first-half show successful Sunday’s 3-2 decision astatine Fulham was not acceptable – and they indispensable support their mentality that the occupation is not done successful the rubric race.

Asked if Slot was aggravated astatine half-time, Van Dijk said: ‘Yeah, of course. Obviously it was much encouraging astatine fractional time. We tin talk astir the tactics arsenic good but helium said it was down to america being sloppy and letting them people 3 goals. It was not acceptable arsenic a team.

‘It was a mediocre time astatine the bureau for each of us. I deliberation they were idiosyncratic moments that should person been dealt with better. In games, these moments tin hap but if you fto them backmost in, they evidently scored 3 goals and we were connected the backmost foot.

‘No-one tin ever beryllium cleanable and we were sloppy and contiguous we got punished rapidly and similar I said past it’s a hard conflict to play. 

'We inactive had the belief, inactive had opportunities but, based connected the archetypal half, you can’t reason with the result.

‘We each cognize arsenic players (that thing is won yet), I’ve mentioned it each week to you guys but what is important is that there’s 7 games near and connected to West Ham adjacent Sunday, we person to spell each successful astatine home, arsenic a team, arsenic players with the fans and to get the 3 points.

‘We volition beryllium grooming rather a batch and we are successful a precise bully presumption but games similar this, particularly successful the archetypal half, amusement the occupation is not done and I’ve been saying it each week. That’s decidedly the mentality successful our radical that the occupation is not done.’