Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson both sent important messages to Virgil van Dijk when the then Southampton defender weighed or he had to join Liverpool or Manchester City
Steven Gerrard's forecast about Virgil van Dijk has been perfectly proven while the Liverpool captain is preparing to add to his legendary Anfield -Furry. Van Dijk finally committed his future to the club by signing a new two -year contract.
The Dutch defender followed last week of Mohamed Salah when completing an extension just a few months before his current deal ends. Although both always wanted to stay in Anfield, the issue was allowed to mess around all season,
But with the Premier League title now at moving distance, the loose ends are tied. Van Dijk's new deal will extend his enchantment on Merseyside to almost a decade.
In 2018, when he weighed for which club Southampton would leave, Manchester City was also in the context for his signature. Conversations and SMS messages with Reds -legend Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, however, helped him to convince him that Anfield was the best place for him.
The core of the messages from Gerrard and Henderson was: “You will be a legend,” reports The Times. That has been emphatically correct, with Van Dijk a key factor in the success of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, where the Champions League and Premier League trophies, plus both domestic cups, were delivered to Anfield.
How Van Dijk would knit with Klopp's successor, Arne Slot, would always be the key to his future after this season. But he continued where he went under Klopp, and he almost certain that he is lifting the Premier League trophy in a matter of weeks again, this time for a packaged Anfield after the success behind closed doors of 2020.
“I am very happy, very proud,” said Van Dijk, who will be 34 in July, the official website of Liverpool when his new deal was announced. “Of course there are so many emotions that now go through my mind and talk about it.
“It's a proud feeling, it's a feeling of joy. It's just incredible. The journey I have had so far in my career, to be able to extend it at this club for another two years is great, and I am so happy.
“It was always Liverpool. It was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan, and it was always Liverpool. There was no doubt that this is the place to be for me and my family.”
The same cannot be said for Trent Alexander-Arnold, the third player whose deal ends in the summer, with Real Madrid apparently more and more confidence in completing their long chase with a free transfer signature at the end of the season.