Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge suffered a blow on Sunday as they played out a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Anfield.
The Reds weren’t at their brilliant best and dropped two points in front of their own fans, although they maintained their six-point at the summit as Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Nevertheless, the Anfield faithful couldn’t be happier with Arne Slot’s start to life at the club as they continue to compete on all fronts.
Contract talks have dominated the back pages in recent weeks, with Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah vying for new deals.
And if reports are to be believed, the Liverpool skipper is close to extending stay at Anfield.
Virgil van Dijk close to new Liverpool deal
It goes without saying that Liverpool put themselves in a dangerous position by allowing three of their most important players to enter the last few months of their current deal.
While Alexander-Arnold is wanted by Real Madrid, Van Dijk and Salah have clearly signalled their desire to remain at Anfield, making those negotiations a lot more straightforward.
Van Dijk has been offered a new deal by the club but hasn’t yet signed on the dotted line.
But Lewis Steele claims it’s only a matter of when rather than if as he shared an update on the future of the Liverpool skipper.
“Everything that I’ve heard points to the fact that Van Dijk will end up signing a new deal,” said Steele in the Talking Reds podcast.
“It’s just about getting the paperwork and finding an agreement on the fee and I think with him and Salah the big thing is the length of the contract.”
What has Van Dijk recently said about his future?
Van Dijk hasn’t shied away from the fact that he wants to stay at Liverpool and has publicly made that clear a handful of times over the course of the season.
However, after the 2-2 draw against Manchester United, the Dutch international made it clear that he hadn’t got an update on the situation.
“Nothing, but I am calm about it like I said months ago,” said Van Dijk to Sky Sports via Fabrizio Romano.
“We’ll see what happens in the future and at this point, I have got absolutely no update.”
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