Arne Slot has mentioned Virgil van Dijk as the Liverpool player who is most able to go to management after hung his boots.
The Reds -defender has previously played the prospect of entering the dugout, although he did not exclude the idea of management and would like to stay in the game after his match days.
Slot needed little thinking when he was asked to name the players he thinks they are most comfortable to switch to management. In an interview with Sky Sports, Slot revealed why the 33-year-old is often his go-to-man to separate orders during the heat of competitions, but also claimed that the player is not at all interested in that career path. He said: “I know he is not interested in becoming a manager, and that is Virgil.
“He is especially the one I choose if I want to provide information during the game. Because he is Dutch, that helps with the language, but he also has a good knowledge of the game. [Alexis] Mac Allister also has a good knowledge of the game and can implement the ideas that we have fairly quickly. “
With his contract that ends in the summer with the deals of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold-Is is the immediate future of Van Dijk in the air. Looking at the long term, he has no burning desire to go to management, although he has not completely excluded it, shows him and lock may not be on the same page about his future goals.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand, Podcast presents last year, Van Dijk outlined his wish to stay in the game – which is not what lock as the case – and how he monitors the young people in the Academy of the Reds.
“I said no [to management]But that is also because I live on this hectic, busy, on-it that my family sacrifices a lot, my wife and my child, “he said in October 2024.
“To have a year off or to have two years off and then go back in … I don't think I see it [management] happens, but never say. I really feel that I will definitely give something back to football. I love working and seeing younger players there.
“For example, I would like to go to the Liverpool Academy to the [underage teams]. I would like to stay in football in the future, but in my time I do not know what kind of role, and it is too far away to think about it. “
In the meantime, Van Dijk says that his focus is on helping Liverpool to help a Treble from the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup – not his contract situation. In anticipation of the crucial 2-0 Premier League victory on Sunday in Manchester City, he told Sky Sports: “It's all about the coming months. To ensure that we give everything. “
He added: “Let's see what the future entails. But as long as I am calm, I think the rest of the world can also remain calm. If there is a clear answer to my future, this will probably come true. Then everyone can know. I'm pretty calm about it. “
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