Virgil van Dijk calmly explains why he isn’t one bit worried about Alisson exit rumours
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‘Calm as you like’ is a lyric from Liverpool fans’ chant lauding Virgil van Dijk, and that perfectly sums up the Dutch defender’s response to rumours of a potential exit from Anfield for Alisson Becker.The 33-year-old’s future with the Reds has become a topic of increasing speculation, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that Juventus have already made a ‘serious approach’ for the goalkeeper.BBC reporter Aadam Patel noted how, when quizzed recently about the possiblity of the Brazil international leaving, Arne Slot didn’t exactly shut down the discourse or defiantly state that our number 1 wouldn’t be heading out the door.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! If it’s going to happen – and I have no idea about it and I don’t think at this point he has an idea about it – then we will, as a club, adapt to that.
“We have been through everything together, positive things and some negative things unfortunately as well, so it would definitely be a big blow and a miss; but I don’t think, for me, it’s a good idea to think ahead about what could or could not happen. “He’s very important for me as one of the leaders in the team and I think he is very important on the pitch because I think he is one of the best – in my opinion, the best – goalkeeper in the world.
He’s trying to be back as soon as possible to help us for the last four games and that’s our main focus.“Whatever happens after that is not something you should ask me. Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustAlisson won’t stay forever, but it’s not the right time for him to goThe message from Van Dijk seems clear – there’s no need to panic about Alisson leaving just yet.Liverpool are currently going through a time of enormous transition with the gradual erosion of the squad which gave us the best of times under Jurgen Klopp.We already know that Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will leave at the end of this season, while our captain and first-choice goalkeeper are in or approaching their mid-30s and have just over a year remaining on their respective contracts.In an article for The Athletic this week, James Pearce echoed the thought of many a Reds fan by declaring that allowing Alisson to depart in the same summer that we’re losing two other stalwarts in the Egypt winger and Scotland left-back would be a ‘mistake’ by the club.Every footballer’s career has an expiry date, and we all know that players come and go as the years progress, but it’s essential that Liverpool do everything they can to retain their number 1 for at least one more season.The finite shelf life is something that Van Dijk acknowledged, but as the captain rightly said, his teammate of more than eight years remains a crucial presence at Anfield.