Liverpool are preparing to offer Virgil van Dijk a new deal worth £200,000 a week in order to ward off interest from La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, reports the Sunday Express.
Van Dijk has been a key figure in Liverpool’s title push and has been a revelation in the Reds defence follow his arrival at Anfield last January.
The Dutchman’s good form hasn’t gone unnoticed either, with Van Dijk the favourite to secure the PFA Player of the Year award.
However, Liverpool are wary of interest from La Liga and are keen to avoid another situation involving a star player and Barcelona, with the La Liga side signing Coutinho, who has been linked with a Manchester United switch, in the same window as the Reds landed Van Dijk.
Van Dijk penned a deal until 2023 when he moved from Southampton to Liverpool last year, but the Reds are keen to reward him for his efforts and make him the club’s joint-highest paid player alongside Mohamed Salah.
One of Van Dijk’s statistically calculated WhoScored strengths happens to be ‘passing’ and for good reason too, with the 27-year-old attempting 2321 passes in the Premier League this season, a return bettered only by Jorginho (2402).
Van Dijk starts alongside Joel Matip in defence in Liverpool’s meeting with Burnley today.
