Arne Slot on importance of soon-to-be out of contract stalwart amid new deal stalemate | OneFootball

Liverpool were victors once again on Saturday afternoon and Arne Slot had plenty of reasons to be happy with his team and chose to speak about one man in particular.

During his post match press conference, the 46-year-old said: “If I have to make a list of what Virgil [van Dijk] brings to this team then we can just go to the next press conference on Tuesday evening against PSV because he brings so many positives to this team.

“Bringing the ball out from the back, defending, his composure, he’s definitely a leader.

“As a manager, I haven’t worked with a lot of players that can say they are a leader, but Virgil is definitely a leader.

“Not only on the pitch, but also on the training ground. The moment we start the training, he is the loudest one and always leads by example.

“He is having a fantastic season, but I think he has already seven, eight fantastic seasons as well.”

It’s no surprise that our captain has been highlighted as one of the most important players in our team and that was on show once again against Ipswich Town.

Virgil van Dijk is the epitome of a leader on and off the pitch

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

All this is great to hear but just makes it even hard to fathom why we haven’t secured the future of our captain with a new deal.

Although there have been many stories shared online, it’s all gone rather quiet on the contract front and it appears that Virgil van Dijk and the club may be at a stalemate.

If we consider Robbie Fowler’s theory that two contracts have already been signed and there’s been a deliberate effort to keep this quiet, to take pressure off the lone option yet to get their contract sorted.

Let’s just hope that our No.4 is one of those who has a deal already agreed and that he spends many more years at Anfield.

You can watch Slot’s comments on Van Dijk via Liverpool FC on YouTube:

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