Virgil van Dijk truth is clear and Liverpool might soon have decision to make

Having been handed the captain's armband to become the official skipper of this bold new era, Liverpool are clearly planning for the long term where Virgil van Dijk is concerned.

The centre-back has established a reputation as one of the greatest defenders arguably ever on Merseyside since joining in January 2018 to become the bedrock upon which so much success was built in the last five years.

Van Dijk's £75m arrival from Southampton was the catalyst that changed Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool from pretenders to contenders to a team who won every top-level trophy available between the years of 2019 and 2022 and they will speak about him favourably alongside any of the great centre-halves who went before him for the Reds. That legacy is secure.

Jurgen Klopp issues Liverpool reality check after ‘comments’

It is clear to everyone what Liverpool need to challenge for major honours

But the contract that was presented in front of him in the summer of 2022 was something of a leap of faith and a show of trust from the club as Van Dijk penned new terms around the same time he was coming back from a long-term and career threatening injury.

There was no proof he would return the same player and even when he starred for a team who ended the following term as FA Cup and Carabao Cup winners alongside 92 Premier League points and a Champions League runners-up medal, there have still been question marks from some sections.

There's been a strange determination in certain circles to tear down the unflappable Dutchman since he came back from that ACL problem over two years ago with every defensive phase of play analysed to the nth degree at times with a focus on Van Dijk's fallibility.

The desperation to portray him as someone who is no