Van Dijk on Liverpool future post-Klopp: ‘I don’t know’

Virgil van Dijk has cast doubt on his future at Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp's announcement that he will leave the club at the end of the season.

Asked if he saw himself being part of the club once Klopp left, Van Dijk replied: “That's a big question, I don't know.

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“The club will have a big job to do. It's well known. To replace the coach and replace not only the coach, the staff is leaving, and there are so many things that will change.

“So the club has a big job to do and I'm very curious which way it's going to go. But when it's announced we'll see our situation. I can't say much about it.”

The Netherlands international, who joined the Merseyside club in 2018, was a mainstay of the Klopp era which saw the club win the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 – the club's first league title for 30 years.

He won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in 2022 and, following Jordan Henderson's move to Al Ittihad last summer, he was named club captain.

Like Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk has just 18 months to run on his contract, but he said his focus remains on giving Klopp a trophy-laden farewell this season.

“It will obviously be the end of the Jurgen Klopp era,” he said. “I'm very happy to still be a part of it. That's why I don't like to talk about it. I'm still a part of it.

“That's my main goal and we'll see at the end of the season. I hope we have the success we all dream of and fight for every day and, by then, there will probably be more clarification on what the club wants. the future and then we will see.”

Sunday's 5-2 win over Norwich in the FA Cup keeps Liverpool in the race for four trophies this season. They are top of the Premier League, five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, and will face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on February 25. Their opponents in the round of 16 of the Europa League have not yet been announced.