Virgil van Dijk signs new deal: Skipper joins Salah in staying with Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has joined Mohamed Salah in signing a new contract with Liverpool to remain with the club beyond the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Less than a week after Liverpool announced that Salah had signed a new contract, the club has confirmed that captain Van Dijk has also put pen to paper on a new deal.

Like Salah, Van Dijk's contract was previously set to expire on June 30, but the Dutchman has put speculation on his future to bed with the announcement that he's agreed to a new deal.

Very few fans thought Van Dijk would actually leave Liverpool, but as the weeks went on and no contract announcement was released, a portion of the Anfield faithful began to worry that their star defender may be on the move.

However, those fans no longer have to worry, as on the morning of April 17 Liverpool announced that their captain had signed a new contract, with reports claiming his new deal expires in 2027.

This is the start of what is set to be a big few week for Virgil, with the 33-year-old set to become the first Dutchman to left the Premier League title as captain of his side, with Liverpool the heavy favourites for the 24/25 Premier League.

Whilst confirming the news, Liverpool included comments made by Van Dijk on his new deal, with the club's captain stating that he's "very happy" to have put pen to paper on an extended contract.

“I’m very happy, very proud. There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it. t’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.”

As noted, many fans expected Van Dijk to stay, but they'll still be delighted to see it confirmed in writing that their skipper isn't on the move.

Speaking about potentially moving clubs, Van Dijk hinted that it was never a consideration, stating that he always wanted to extend his Liverpool deal and remain at the club.

"It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool. There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I’m one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser – I’m really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling.”

Van Dijk's comments suggest that a move away from Anfield wasn't something he ever particularly considered, despite the fact he was free to speak to other clubs from January 1, 2025.

That seems to be the sentiment that was felt by the clubs that did at least investigate a potential move for Van Dijk, with a new report from Mail Sport claiming that Chelsea were one of the clubs who explored the idea of bringing VVD in.

The report states that the feeling Chelsea got back when they looked into a deal was that Virgil was always going to sign a new contract at Anfield, it was just a matter of when.

As well as competing for team awards, Van Dijk is also in the running for a few individual season, so impressive has his second season as Liverpool skipper been.

The defender is one of the names in the running to win the PFA Player of the Season, which isn't too surprising considering he's the captain for the side on track to become one of the earliest teams to lift the Premier League title.

Van Dijk does sit behind Salah in that race though, just as he does for the Ballon d'Or, with both player's seeing their odds lengthen after Liverpool were eliminated from the Champions League in March.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.