Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool future is uncertain as the Reds captain reveals he has NOT been offered a new deal despite his current deal ending next summer

There is still no contract offer on the table for Virgil van Dijk as the Liverpool captain enters the final season of his deal with the Reds.

Liverpool produced a convincing display to beat Spanish side Sevilla 4-1 at Anfield on Sunday – Luis Diaz scoring twice while Diogo Jota and teenager Trey Nyoni also scored – to make it four wins from four in front of a crowd to start the Arne Slot era.

It was Van Dijk’s first minutes under Slot after the Dutchman returned from a three-week break following the European Championship. And the defender claims there is still no move to sign a new contract with the club.

When asked about the matter, Van Dijk groaned and laughed lightly, as the question is asked of him almost every week during the club’s season. And he said: “There are no changes at the moment.”

It is a worrying problem for Liverpool and their new sporting director Richard Hughes, who has yet to sign a first-team player since joining from Bournemouth and officially began his role at the Merseyside club in June.

Star striker Mohamed Salah and homegrown player Trent Alexander-Arnold, the vice-captain, have just 11 months left on their current deals. That means that without intervention, three of Liverpool’s most valuable assets will no longer be at the club this time next year.

Van Dijk said in the spring that he wanted to see what things were like under the new coaching regime before committing his future to the club and, when asked about his first impressions of Slot, he said: “So far, so good.

“We’re working a lot on the training pitch, tactically and physically, to get back in shape. Today was the last big test before we start the serious stuff and I think we’re ready for it. Hopefully we can prove that because going there (to Ipswich) on Saturday is going to be tough.”

“We communicate with each other and we have a lot of tactical meetings to see what we can improve. The details are very important to improve our game and I think that’s what we all want. We all have to show that will – and so far, so good.”

Asked about the changes under Slot, Van Dijk said: “We focus a lot on building up, a lot more responsibility for our centre-backs with and without the ball. But obviously our midfielders are also important.”

“I think we try to create certain patterns based on what the opponent does against us. I think you can see in the way we play that the moments we have during the game, they look good. Obviously, they still need to be refined and we always have to be flexible.

“We tried to play short, but when they play team against team you have to think about overplaying on the first and second line and then sprinting and getting the second ball. So I think we have to find the right balance in that sense, but you can clearly see the patterns.”

Van Dijk said it hurt him deeply to lose the Euro semi-final against England, when Ollie Watkins scored the last-gasp winner for the Three Lions in Germany. “I had three weeks off and I would say the first week was a lot of emotions.

“(It was) losing in the semi-final against England, which hurt a lot, and then obviously you’re going to think about the whole year you’ve had personally and also especially how we were as a team with Liverpool.

“Towards the end we were lacking experience, quality, there were a few injuries here and there, and a few things that didn’t go our way, but hopefully we can learn from that and take it with us into this season and show that consistency in the latter part of the season.

“It’s more than just playing the games, it’s how you deal with things outside of the games and the mental part is very important and it’s not easy. Everyone will reflect on last year, I certainly did and I’m looking forward to this season in many ways and we’ll see what happens.”

“Of course I think we should make some signings depending on the length of the season, but I think they are working behind the scenes. I am totally confident and I have faith in the club, they will do what it takes and form the best possible team to compete in all competitions.”