Liverpool and Netherlands Captain Virgil Van Dijk has stated that he would like to extend his contract with the Reds, while star forward Mohamed Salah has garnered interest from footballing superpowers.

Van Dijk, 33, has been the focus of countless rumors, with many reporting that the center back looked likely to move to the wealthy Saudi league when his contract ends at the end of the 2024/25 season.

Attack vs Defence. Haaland vs Van Dijk. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/s18d8dNdBK

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 13, 2024

However, the Dutchman has addressed these rumors while on International duty with the Netherlands, and cleared up any blurred lines surrounding his future.

Speaking to the Mirror, Van Dijk said: “ At both teams (club and country), I am still Virgil Van Dijk, the big leader! And I certainly want to remain that for the next two years.”

After stating that he wanted to lead his nation at the 2026 World Cup, Netherlands national team coach Ronald Koeman even came to England to hold face-to-face talks with the Liverpool skipper, imploring him to remain in England so as to remain in the center of the Dutch managers plans.

Van Dijk has added incentive to steer clear of Saudi, after Koeman banished compatriot Steven Bergwijn from the squad following his move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad aged just 26.

Speaking on the matter, Koeman said: “when you are 26, your main ambitions should be sporting, not financial. He knows what I think about this.”

Steven Bergwijn hits back at Ronald Koeman’s criticism of his move to Saudi 😳🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/yIkFw9rx0S

— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) September 7, 2024

Bearing this in mind, it now looks likely that Van Dijk will sign a new contract at Liverpool, or at least a contract extension in order to boost his chances of captaining the Netherlands to the World Cup.

Having signed for Liverpool in January 2018, Van Dijk, has cemented himself as one of, if not the best central defender in the world, and has made 273 appearances within that time.

However, the potential for contract talks with Van Dijk is not the only news coming out of Liverpool, as the future of Liverpool’s Egyptian King Mohamed Salah looks to be hanging in the balance.

With Salah’s contract expiring at the same time as Van Dijk’s, he only has to wait for 4 more months before being allowed to discuss a free transfer to foreign clubs.

Spanish sports publishers El Nacional have reported concrete interest in Salah's services come the end of his contract, with both PSG and Juventus monitoring the situation closely. There is also interest coming from the Saudi League, with Liverpool rejecting a £150 million bid from the region last summer.

The news carries significant weight after Salah hinted it could be his last season at the club after Liverpool’s dominant 3-0 victory of Manchester United, in which the Egyptian scored once and assisted two more.

All Mohamed Salah goal against Man United in the Premier League 🇪🇬👑

pic.twitter.com/oqpNw1lPD7

— FACT (@lfcfact) September 6, 2024

Speaking after the game, Salah said: “I was coming into the game and I thought ‘look, it could be the last game (at Old Trafford).’ Nobody at the club has talked to me about contracts yet. It’s not up to me, it’s up to the club, but let's see.”

Having scored an astonishing 214 goals in 352 appearances for Liverpool since signing in the summer of 2017, the Red’s will be desperate to keep his goal scoring talent at Anfield instead of sending his services elsewhere.

However, the onus is on the Scouse club, as Salah has already said that he is “desperate’ to sign a new contract. It has also been reported that Liverpool are willing to break their typical policy of not offering deals to players over 30. With salah, it is surely acceptable to make an exception.

🥈| Liverpool are doing “everything they can” to keep Mo Salah beyond the expiration of his current contract and are ready to break their usual policy of not handing deals to players over 30.

There is willingness from both sides to get a deal done. [@SportsPeteO] pic.twitter.com/v8zBSjQKeA

— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) September 8, 2024

The desire to stay is certainly there, but it is now a question of who blinks first. They have four months to solve this stalemate, so both parties need to use their time wisely.