‘I understand’ – What Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk has told Ronald Koeman about his future

Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk is approaching the end of his current contract at Anfield with talks still not having resolved his future

Holland national team boss Ronald Koeman has claimed Virgil van Dijk expects to be playing at the highest level next season regardless of whether or not he leaves Liverpool.

Van Dijk is out of contract in three months and, with talks over a new deal having yet to reach a resolution, is at present set to exit Anfield in the summer on a free transfer despite having made clear he wants to extend a stay that began in January 2018.

Reports earlier this year indicated the ambitious Saudi Pro League were preparing a major offer to lure the Liverpool skipper to the Middle East.

But Koeman believes Van Dijk will be playing for a leading European team next term even if he departs the Reds.

“Whether he signs with Liverpool or another big club, that’s all good for me,” said the Dutch boss, speaking on Monday.

“We’ll see what happens, and what I understand from Virgil is that he is still looking for the level he is at now.”

Van Dijk is currently with the Holland squad preparing for their two-legged UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Spain, which takes place on Thursday and Sunday.

As things stand, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold will also become free agents once their deals expire in the summer. Salah has stated his desire to stay with Alexander-Arnold is pondering an offer from European Super League advocates Real Madrid.

Liverpool star ‘won’t play for the club again’ after defeat to Newcastle with sensational move lined up

The star player has been linked with a massive move away when the transfer window opens.

A top Liverpool star may never play for the club again following the brutal 2-1 loss to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.

On Sunday, Newcastle United secured their first trophy 70 years after dominating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, winning the game 2-1.

The disappointing result comes just days after Arne Slot’s side crashed out of the Champions League after being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain following a penalty shootout in the second leg of their round of 16 clash at Anfield.

And in the wake of the match, it appears that one star player may never represent the club again, as rumours of an massive move in the summer have emerged.

As is customary in the domestic cup competitions, second goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher started in between the sticks for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, but was unable to do much to step Dan Burn and Alexander Isak from sealing the win for the Magpies.

With Liverpool also out of the FA Cup, it’s likely that the Irishman may not play another game for the Reds this season, with first-choice keeper Alisson Becker the favourite to start as Liverpool hope to secure the Premier League title.

Liverpool have just nine matches left this season, and with it looking like Kelleher will leave the club in the summer, it seems increasingly likely that Sunday’s loss to Newcastle could end up being the 26-year-old’s final game in red.

Should the Irish international decide to leave in the summer, then a recent report from The Sun has claimed that Bournemouth have emerged as the favourites to secure his signature.

The Cherries are said to be confident about getting the deal over the line as they look to replace current keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga when he returns to Chelsea at the end of his loan spell.

However, with Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur also reportedly interested in Kelleher, it’s possible that Liverpool could receive bids from several sides within the Premier League for their star keeper.

Should bids come in and Kelleher express a desire to move on from Anfield, then it is believed that Liverpool will allow him to leave ahead of with Giorgi Mamardashvili’s imminent arrival.

Explaining why Kelleher was handed a start at Wembley, Liverpool boss Slot said: “It wasn’t difficult.

“It was only once when I played Alisson [in the League Cup] and that was only when he had been out injured and needed playing time to be back to his best. For all the other games, we have played the second choice.

“That was Jaros when Caoimhin was the No.1. Caoimhin has always done so well so deserves to play in this one.”

Arne Slot shows his true colours as fans spot what he did immediately after Carabao Cup final defeat.

He may have been left disappointed by his side’s lacklustre performance in the Carabao Cup final, but Arne Slot showed his class after Newcastle ended a 70-year wait for domestic silverware.

Slot missed out on winning his first trophy as Liverpool manager on Sunday afternoon as Eddie Howe’s Newcastle defied the odds to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

The Reds have now lost consecutive games under the Dutch manager for the first time after they suffered an early Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

It was ultimately another frustrating result for the Premier League leaders, but after the full-time whistle at Wembley, Slot was full of praise for the Carabao Cup winners in his post-match comments.

“It is 70 years since they last won a trophy but that is for the fans,” he said. “The players have 15 years to play football and they want to win every single trophy they play for and that is what we also want.”

Slot added: “They got some extra energy with the goal which they probably deserved so I don’t think there was more hunger for them. The game went the way they wanted it to.”

The former Feyenoord boss was also magnanimous in defeat during Newcastle’s post-match celebrations. On the touchline, he could be seen giving every Newcastle player a hand-slap as they walked past him to receive their medals.

It was a gesture that was praised by many on social media.

One fan said: “Absolutely sensational. Just shows you the character of him, very unique. He also gave full credit to Newcastle in his interview that they simply outplayed his team.”

A second wrote: “He’s a classy operator, Reds are lucky to have him,” while a third commented: “He’s a classy guy to be fair.”

A fourth said: “True sportsmanship and a gent,” and a fifth added: “Great sportsmanship, a little respect goes a long way.”

Speaking in his post-match interview, Slot gave a further insight into Liverpool’s defeat. “A disappointing result and a disappointing performance,” he began.

“It’s completely different to how I felt after the Paris Saint-Germain game. Losing two games in a row is something we’ve done probably for the first time, but it probably comes with being in the latter stages of competitions.

“Even Liverpool can lose football games. We were outplayed, in their style. Today it wasn’t about running; it was more about duels.”

He added: “This game went exactly the way they wanted it to, with a lot of fight and a lot of duels. This game had no intensity, so you cannot even judge if we were tired physically. There was nothing to press because they played over our press. The game was slow.”

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)’s Director of Press and Media Relations, Pascal Ferre, has claimed that the rumors of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk joining Les Parisiens are not true.

The rumors emerged when the Dutchman was seen talking to PSG Chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and the sporting director Luis Campos after Liverpool were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, March 11.

A video of the incident circulated across various social media platforms, fueling inevitable speculation about the Dutch defender’s future. Some reports also claimed that Virgil van Dijk was potentially discussing a move to the Ligue 1 giants with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

However, Pascal Ferre has ended all speculations, stating that the conversation between the player and PSG’s club officials was spontaneous and they didn’t discuss any move. He told 365Scores (via DaveOCKop):

“I don’t understand why this video has caused such a huge controversy on social media. The conversation between Van Dijk, the club president, and also the sporting director was completely natural and spontaneous.”

Ferre added:

“Our president did not discuss any negotiations to sign the player, and everything rumoured about this is false. The discussion was friendly, and the club president has the utmost respect for Van Dijk.”

Virgil Van Dijk’s contract with the Reds will expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign as he’s yet to sign a extension. The contracts of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold will also end this summer.

Meanwhile, Liverpool endured a disappointing elimination from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, March 11, losing 4-1 on penalties to PSG in the Round of 16. Later on Sunday, March 16, the Reds lost to Newcastle United 2-1 in the EFL Cup final.

Moments you may not have spotted during Liverpool’s League Cup final against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool suffered the embarrassment of becoming the first team to lose to Newcastle United in a domestic final for 70 years when the slumped to a 2-1 League Cup final reverse on Sunday afternoon. Substitute Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back during injury time but the Reds had already posted arguably their worst-ever performance in a final to lose in shockingly dismal fashion.

Arne Slot’s side have now seen their hopes of a trophy treble dashed inside a week with concentration now focusing on winning the Premier League title after the international break.

But there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at Wembley…

Elliott treatment annoys Jones

It’s fair to say Liverpool were bullied by a Newcastle midfield that was out on its feet come injury time. But that didn’t stop one of the Magpies engine room from a characteristic end to the game.

In the final seconds, Harvey Elliott sought to bring the ball forward when he was cleaned out by the booking-averse Joelinton near the touchline with a poor challenge. Incredibly, none of the officials saw the incident to be too much bother, with Curtis Jones waving his arms and running towards the referee in anger at the Newcastle man escaping censure.

Poor Elliott, meanwhile, was left needed treatment on the pitch after the final whistle as Newcastle celebrated. Talk about adding injury to insult.

Newcastle fans misunderstand.

Liverpool finally sparked into some sort of life during the closing stages when fresh legs from the bench started to bother a tiring Newcastle side. But there was confusion when Chiesa knocked the ball past Nick Pope to halve the arrears.

Indeed, when referee John Brooks eventually informed the stadium the goal was being allowed, mere mention of the word “offside” prompted celebrations in the Newcastle end before they realised their team were kicking off now only 2-1 ahead.

Rush and Dalglish confusion

It seemed the whole of Newcastle had descended upon Wembley for one of the biggest games in the club’s history. Ain’t no doubt, though, that it was disappointing Jimmy Nail appeared not to be there.

Ant and Dec were, and their appearance on screen inside the stadium which was cheered by the Toon Army was probably the most exciting moment of a pretty tedious opening 40 minutes.

The Newcastle fans, though, didn’t quite know how to react when Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush appeared on screen. Liverpool legends, yes, but both with links to the North East having managed and played for the Magpies respectively.

PSG glee

There was plenty of abuse and gloating aimed in the direction of Liverpool afterwards. And even some opposing clubs got involved.

The Paris Saint-Germain official social media channels retweeted an image of a Reds fan at Wembley wearing a PSG cap with the words “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”.

Given Liverpool supporters have long had a tradition of picking up headwear of teams they have faced on their travels in Europe, expect Girona, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig and AC Milan to follow suit in the coming days.

Liverpool player ‘said yes’ to extraordinary summer transfer hours before Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle

Liverpool were beaten by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

One Liverpool star reportedly ‘said yes’ to a summer transfer hours before the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.

On Sunday afternoon, the first major trophy of the season was handed out at Wembley as Liverpool and Newcastle battled for Carabao Cup glory.

Holders Liverpool headed into the final as the favourites but Arne Slot’s men produced a dismal performance on the biggest stage of all.

Newcastle came away 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak. Federico Chiesa scored in the closing stages but the Magpies held on to end their 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

On Sunday morning, hours before the final, it was claimed that one Liverpool star had agreed to a summer transfer away from Anfield.

Liverpool star ‘said yes’ to summer move before Carabao Cup final defeat

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano wrote on social media: “BREAKING: Luis Diaz has already said YES to potential move to Barcelona, reports Sport.”

As reported by Spanish news outlet SPORT, Barcelona are interested in signing Diaz in the summer in a deal that could cost around €70 – €75 million.

It has also been suggested that Diaz sees Barcelona as a dream club and has previously admitted that he would like to play for the Catalan outfit in the future.

Diaz started for Liverpool against Newcastle but was not able to make a positive impact and he was replaced with 74 minutes on the clock.

Since arriving on Merseyside from Portuguese club Porto back in 2022, Diaz has scored 37 goals in 140 appearances across all competitions.

Liverpool will now have to make sure their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table doesn’t slip away with just nine games left to play in the season.

The Reds will return to action on April 2 when they take on bitter rivals Everton at Anfield.

Newcastle United finally ended their 70-year wait for silverware as they earned a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Virgil van Dijk should have settled his Liverpool future after the Reds’ defeat in the Carabao Cup final.

Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards will have been watching proceedings closely at Wembley. There will be plenty they will not have liked.

The mere two shots on target in close to 100 minutes played is simply not good enough and confirms why Liverpool are looking to overhaul their attack as revealed exclusively by Anfield Watch.

Mo Salah’s poor performance yet again also highlights why Liverpool have been reluctant to renew his current deal. He looked rugged on the pitch and struggled to beat his man – not for the first time recently he was outplayed.

That will raise question marks about the Egyptian’s future but he’s not the only one with an uncertain outlook.

Virgil van Dijk is in a similar boat. However, conversely he will have settled his future in a positive way despite the Reds’ defeat.

Why Virgil van Dijk has just settled Liverpool future

There has been a lot of debates surrounding Liverpool’s trio with expiring contracts at the end of the season about whether they all deserve their contract extensions.

Even Van Dijk has faced scrutiny. After all, he’s not getting any younger. Is there not a worry his performances will start to drop as he inevitably enters the twilight of his career?

Despite the season he has had this continues to be a question mark around Van Dijk, but it’s a question mark he should have completed abolished after his performance in the Carabao Cup final.

Things could have been a lot worse for Liverpool if their club captain wasn’t on the pitch.

Van Dijk essentially kept the Reds in the game single-handedly, defending at times as Slot rotated his formation heavily and subbed off Ibrahima Konate for Liverpool to attack Newcastle.

The defender handled Newcastle’s counter attacks with brilliant poise and often put his body on the line to make sure the Reds chance never really waned.

It was only in the dying embers of the game when Liverpool’s fate had been decided.

And as the Reds’ fate was decided as will have Van Dijk’s. It’s clear out of the Liverpool trio he is the one who needs to be tied down to the club the most.

Not only is he the club captain and essential in the dressing room he is also irreplaceable on the pitch. You could probably replace Alexander-Arnold’s creativity and Salah’s goal-scoring prowess but you cannot replace Van Dijk’s defensive aura.

Hughes and Edwards will have been watching that game and it should have been enough for them to realise Van Dijk’s future is settled.

If logic prevails, he will be staying at Liverpool. No question about it.