Virgil van Dijk reveals he has NOT been offered a new contract by Liverpool, despite his current deal set to end next year… with Dutch defender’s future at Anfield cast into doubt

There is still no contract offer on the table for Virgil van Dijk as the Liverpool captain enters the final season of his deal with the Reds.

Liverpool played a convincing game to beat Spanish side Sevilla 4-1 at Anfield on Sunday. Luis Diaz scored twice, while Diogo Jota and teenager Trey Nyoni also scored. That made it four wins from four in front of the crowd and the Arne Slot era began.

It was Van Dijk’s first minutes under Slot after the Dutchman returned from a three-week break following the European Championships, and the defender says there has been no movement on signing a new contract with the club.

Asked about the issue, Van Dijk groaned and laughed slightly because the question is asked to him almost weekly during the club season. And he said: ‘There is no change at the moment.’

It is a worrying issue for Liverpool and new sporting director Richard Hughes, who has yet to sign a single first-team player since officially taking up his role at the Merseyside club from Bournemouth in June.

The Dutch defender’s current contract expires next year, leaving his future at Anfield uncertain

Star player Mohamed Salah and local boy Trent Alexander-Arnold, the vice-captain, also have just 11 months left on their current contracts, meaning that without intervention three of Liverpool’s prized assets will not be at the club next year.

Van Dijk said in the spring that he wanted to see how things would go under the new coaching regime before committing his future to the club. When asked about his first impressions of Slot, he said: ‘So far it’s going well.

“Of course we do a lot of work on the training ground – tactically, physically as well to get fit. Today was the last big test before we start the real work and I feel like we are ready for that. Hopefully we can show that because when we go there (Ipswich) on Saturday it will be tough.

“We communicate with each other and have a lot of tactical meetings where we look at what we can improve. The finer details are very important to improve our game and I think that’s what we all want. We all have to show that will – and so far it’s going well.”

Asked what has changed under Slot, Van Dijk said: ‘We focus a lot on the build-up, much more responsibility for our central defenders with and without the ball. But of course our midfielders are also important.

“And I think we try to create certain patterns in what the opponent does against us. I think you can see from the way we play that the moments we have during the game look good. Obviously they still need to be refined and we still need to be flexible.

Van Dijk says he is ready for the upcoming new season under new coach Arne Slot

“We tried to play short, but when they’re man-to-man, you have to think about passing that first and second line and then sprinting and getting the second ball. So I think we have to find the right balance in that sense, but you can clearly see the patterns.”

Van Dijk said he was deeply saddened by losing the Euro 2016 semi-final to England – when Ollie Watkins scored the last-minute winner for the Three Lions in Germany. ‘I had three weeks off and I would say the first week I went through a lot of emotions.

‘(It came) just from a semi-final loss to England, which really hurt. And then you think about the whole year you’ve had personally and especially how we were as a team with Liverpool.

“Towards the end we lacked experience and quality. There were some injuries here and there and several things that didn’t go our way. Hopefully we can learn from that and take that with us into the season. That way we can be consistent in the last part of the season.”

Van Dijk said it hurt him deeply to lose the European Championship semi-final against England last month

“It’s much more than just playing the games, it’s how you deal with it outside of the games and the mental part is very important and it’s not easy. Everyone will look back on last year, I certainly will and I’m looking forward to this season in so many ways and let’s see what happens.

“Of course I think we need to bring in some players based on how long the season is, but I think they are working behind the scenes. I have every confidence and I have confidence in the club that they will do the right thing and put together the best possible squad to compete in every competition.”