Andoni Iraola must make Virgil van Dijk talks one of his Liverpool priorities this summer

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.

As part of the ECHO's end-of-season player profiling, Paul Gorst assesses the lay of the land for Virgil van Dijk under new boss Andoni IraolaOne of the key issues that has arisen following Andoni Iraola's move to Liverpool is how the Basque will handle the step up in expectations.Iraola performed a minor miracle by leading Bournemouth to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League, given the relative lack of resources and the fact that he had to handle the sales of some of his best players.Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Antoine Semenyo were all sold at a considerable profit with Iraola in the hot seat, while Dominic Solanke was traded to Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m deal in 2024 and Milos Kerkez also joined the Reds in a £40m transfer last summer.The ability to polish rough diamonds into assets that are sold for huge profits is not necessarily a prerequisite for the job at Liverpool but it does at least show how good Iraola was at improving players to the point where they were in a position to join clubs like Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and, of course, Liverpool.When Iraola walks into the dressing room at Anfield later this year, however, he will be surrounded by a group of players who don't view their current employers as a stepping stone.With respect to Bournemouth, the model of developing talent and enjoying the fruits of that labour before they depart for clubs with loftier ambitions is one they are likely under no illusions about in terms of how they should operate.Liverpool, though, are different, and one of the first tasks for Iraola will be to get a complete buy-in from a group of players who have some of the game's biggest prizes on their glittering CVs.From Champions League and Premier League titles to European Championships and World Cups, the current crop's collective medal collection is impressive.END OF SEASON PLAYER PROFILES: MILOS KERKEZ / RIO NGUMOHA / CURTIS JONES / JEREMY JACQUET/GIOVANNI LEONISo perhaps one of the first real exchanges for Iraola will be with his captain, Virgil van Dijk, who, at 35 next month, is the squad's patriarch alongside Alisson Becker, who has a more understated leadership role.With Van Dijk now at the halfway point of a two-year contract signed in April of last year, it would be a wise move on Iraola's part to find out exactly where his captain's state of mind lies later after a season the Netherlands captain recently labelled as the toughest of his career.Van Dijk is a shining beacon of reliability in a centre-back department that is facing much uncertainty this summer, given Ibrahima Konate is leaving and young duo Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are set to battle for the right to be the skipper's centre-back partner.Van Dijk, in fact, was the only outfield player to feature for every minute of any team’s campaign in the Premier League in 2025-26 and his importance to the cause, as he enters the final year of his contract, has only grown given the developments around Konate and the inexperience of Jacquet and Leoni in the Premier League.The Reds skipper puts his consistency down to his preparation and his professionalism away from the pitch but as he prepares to turn 35 in a few weeks, the plan for his long-term successor must already be in place.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page“It’s not really a surprise, but obviously I’m doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes in order to be ready and take the responsibility for the team," Van Dijk tells WALK ON, Liverpool's official eMagazine.“So, yes, it is a combination of recovering well, eating well, the right lifestyle in total, also physical therapy.

That’s part of it, to make sure that you can perform at a constant level.“I’ve had one season here that unfortunately I had to miss a lot of, but in the rest of the seasons I think I’ve played more than 40 matches. And I think the most matches before this season have been played in the season after my knee injury.“That’s quite remarkable.

When I heard that I thought it was quite interesting. And I do everything for that and I want to keep doing it at the highest level."For now, though, Iraola will learn plenty about his new charges when he sits down with the man who leads them out every week.Liverpool are hurtling towards a new era but the reassuring presence of Van Dijk will make the transition easier for everyone, Iraola included.