Van Dijk reveals ‘progress’ in talks over new Liverpool contract

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has said “progress” has been made in talks over a much-discussed new deal to keep him at Anfield.

The 33-year-old Dutch international, along with Liverpool team-mates Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, is out of contract at the end of this season.

Van Dijk, asked after Sunday’s 3-2 Premier League defeat at Fulham if there had been any progress in the discussions, told reporters: “There is progress, yeah.”

Questioned on what that meant exactly, he added: “Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see.

“I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again (at Fulham). We wanted to reward them, but I ask them to be there again on Sunday and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”

Premier League champions-elect Liverpool face West Ham at Anfield on Sunday, with the runaway leaders 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal and knowing a second title in six seasons is just around the corner.

But the futures of key trio Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold have become major talking points in recent weeks, with speculation that local hero Alexander-Arnold could leave for Spanish giants Real Madrid provoking a strong reaction from some sections of the club’s support.

Van Dijk, however, said his sole focus was on winning the league.

“That’s definitely the mentality in our group, that the job is not done and now we just have to recover from this physically and mentally and put our minds on West Ham at home,” he said.