Virgil van Dijk: What happens next for Liverpool captain?
Aside from a poor error against Villarreal in the Champions League, Van Dijk has shown this season that his standards haven’t dropped.
His partnership with Jeremy Jacquet, who joined in the summer, is going from strength to strength and Van Dijk has played every minute in the Premier League since the start of last season.
A “little niggle” has affected him in recent weeks and this is the first international window he has missed with the Netherlands since Euro 2020, but it isn’t a major cause for concern.
Liverpool have lost a number of senior figures in recent years but Van Dijk remains a leader in every form, and that was evidenced by his suggestion to Andoni Iraola that the squad should visit the museum at Anfield to learn more about the club’s history.
At Crystal Palace on Sunday, it spoke volumes of Van Dijk’s character that he came over to a group of reporters and asked if they wanted to speak to him, rather than the other way around. He regularly fronts up, regardless of the result.
Van Dijk is certainly not the force he was under Jurgen Klopp but he remains an elite centre-half and the stats justify that.
Per 90 minutes this season in the Premier League, he averages 60.7 successful passes per game, wins possession 3.5 times and makes 7.1 clearances. He has a 75% success in duels and 79% when it comes to aerial duels.
In his first full season at the club, in 2019-20, he averaged 72.4 successful passes per game, won possession 5.1 times and made 5.3 clearances. He had a 76% success in duels and 75% when it came to aerial duels.
That said, the Liverpool hierarchy will have seen the way the situation with Mohamed Salah unfolded last year and will be keen to avoid a repeat. After a stellar season in 2024-25, Salah’s numbers plummeted in 2025-26.
Liverpool have a number of young centre-backs within their ranks, from Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni to the likes of Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye, but letting Van Dijk go would be a risk and leave a gaping hole.
He didn’t take a pay cut in 2025 and continues to earn a salary understood to be in the region of £400,000 a week.
Joe Gomez, 29, is also out of contract this summer and Liverpool do have an option to buy Ronald Araujo, 27, at the end of the season from Barcelona but there would be a clear loss of experience and leadership if Van Dijk leaves.
For sporting director Julian Ward, the future of the Dutchman will be a priority over the coming months.
