Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is “about to leave” the club, alongside Mohamed Salah. Plus, the truth behind Juventus’ insulting €7m bid for Alisson Becker and why Andoni Iraola is desperately fighting to keep his final dressing room leader.
Liverpool fans, brace yourselves. This summer transfer window is rapidly turning into one of the most chaotic periods in the club’s modern history.
As if the arrival of Andoni Iraola to replace Arne Slot wasn’t enough of a reset, the Reds are now facing a catastrophic drain of leadership. Following a dismal fifth-place finish and a trophy-less campaign, Iraola is desperate to put his own stamp on the squad. However, the rebuilding job just got a whole lot harder.
We already knew about the devastating free transfer departures of Andy Robertson (Tottenham) and Ibrahima Konate (Real Madrid). We also knew Mohamed Salah is entering his final weeks as a Red after his shock announcement in March.
But now, a fresh bombshell has dropped. According to football agent David Lavelle, club captain Virgil van Dijk is also “about to leave” Anfield.
The revelation came to light while Lavelle was discussing Juventus’ high-profile pursuit of Liverpool’s number one, Alisson Becker.
While the club have brought in Rennes youngster Jeremy Jacquet and wrapped up a £34.5m deal for Osasuna’s Victor Munoz—with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande still targeted keeping the spine of the team together is proving to be a nightmare. Reports suggest Alisson has already agreed personal terms with the Italian giants.
However, Liverpool have firmly told the Brazilian that they expect him to honour the final year of his contract to help Iraola steady the ship.
Speaking to Oggi Sport Notizie, Lavelle laughed off Juve’s opening financial package for the world’s best goalkeeper, while simultaneously letting slip the news about Van Dijk.
Lavelle revealed:
“It must be remembered that Liverpool have changed their manager. Iraola probably wants to take a look at everyone. Alisson only has one year left on his contract.”
The agent then exposed Juve’s borderline insulting valuation of the Liverpool shot-stopper:
“I know he’s reached a personal agreement with Juventus. The Brazilian is worth around €15m or so, and the Bianconeri entered the race for this goalkeeper with a brazen offer. I don’t know if the Juventus management offered €7m to Liverpool just because he’s in the final year of his contract.
“Despite that, he’s undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and Liverpool would like to keep him. Players of the calibre of Salah and Van Dijk are about to leave, and you need an older player in the dressing room. I think the Reds want to keep him for that reason.”
Live4Liverpool Verdict
To lose one world-class leader in a summer is tough. To lose Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Mo Salah, and Virgil van Dijk all at once is borderline negligent squad management.
While FSG and Iraola are clearly trying to usher in a youth revolution with Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet, you cannot completely gut a dressing room of it’s soul.