Virgil van Dijk says ‘no change’ in contract situation at Liverpool

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists there is “no change” in his contract situation but nevertheless remains positive about a fresh start under new head coach Arne Slot.

The Netherlands captain is one of three key players – Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah the other two – who are in the final year of their current deals.

“There is no change at the minute,” said Van Dijk after playing in a 4-1 friendly win over Sevilla at Anfield in which Luis Diaz (two), Diogo Jota and youngster Trey Nyoni scored.

“I am confident. Obviously I think we should make some signings based on how long the season will go but I think they are working behind the scenes.

“But I am fully confident and I have trust in the club that they will do the right thing for us and get the best possible squad to compete in every competition and that is the main thing I am focusing on.

“We have the trust and we will see what happens. I think they are working very hard behind the scenes, so we will see how that turns out.”

Liverpool have identified Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi as their primary target but while Spain’s Euro 2024 winner has a buyout clause of £57million, it has not yet been triggered.

Slot refused to confirm their interest in Zubimendi, saying: “You can come up with every name you want to of course.”

However, the defensive midfield role is an area they are looking to strengthen and, having tried a number of existing players in the position, the Dutchman believes he has identified the one who will start at Ipswich next weekend.

“The ones I have tried there has sometimes to do with the players I have had available,” said Slot, who also oversaw a goalless draw with Las Palmas utilising a completely different squad just a couple of hours later.

“We have seen mostly Wata (Endo) and Ryan (Gravenberch) there, and in the previous game even Dominik (Szoboszlai) was a bit lower.

“I have quite a good idea which player suits there at this moment in my opinion best.

“But we are only one week working together with some players. Sometimes you feel this is the best number six but then the combination with the other two might not work out that well.

“It’s not to say the ones who played today will play next week or the weeks after.

“We are still in a situation where we are constantly evaluating which is the best line-up for us.

“Today you saw this, but that’s not to say it’s the same next week.”