The way Virgil van Dijk put it on Sunday, a saga had the feel of a formality. “Everything that embodies Liverpool that is just part of me,” he said. A man with a claim to be Liverpool’s finest ever centre-back, who is set to join their band of title-winning captains has become part of the fabric of the club to the extent that it has seemed surreal that, until a new contract was belatedly signed, they risked losing a £75m signing on a free transfer.
In theory, Van Dijk’s last act at Anfield could have been to lift the Premier League trophy before exiting, seemingly unwanted. In practice, it wasn’t going to happen. Only those with little understanding of the situation thought the defender would leave. Van Dijk didn’t. As he put it, it was “always Liverpool, it was always in my head, it was always the plan”.
If the inexplicable element is why contract talks took so long when both parties wanted him to stay, this has been the least dramatic of stories, in part because Van Dijk has brought his nonchalance from the pitch to every interview in which he has been asked about his future. Cautious as Arne Slot invariably is in his rhetoric, he left little doubt he wanted to keep his compatriot. Despite a couple of recent mistakes, Van Dijk’s performances have been suitably commanding to rebut any notions of decline.
A two-year deal will take him to the brink of his 36th birthday; he could be Liverpool’s oldest centre-back since George Fleming, more than 120 years ago. Van Dijk, though, is the exception to many a rule. As he turned 23, he was not in a Netherlands World Cup squad that instead included Terence Kongolo. At 28, he almost beat Lionel Messi to the Ballon d’Or. Pushing 34, he rarely needs to sprint, strolling through games with an air of authority, his natural calmness only a problem when he and Alisson can both be too relaxed and neither shows enough urgency.
Normally, though, he is the master of laidback defending. Watching him, it is tempting to recall the phrase Bill Shankly used to introduce Ron Yeats, an earlier generation of Liverpool captain, to the media. “Take a walk around my centre-half, gentlemen, he’s a colossus,” he said.
Jurgen Klopp shared similar sentiments: while Manchester City did not feel Van Dijk was worth £75m, a world-record fee for a defender, the German had no qualms about paying it. The sense was that Van Dijk’s love affair began before he joined; seduced by the idea of playing for Liverpool and Klopp, he formed a partnership with the manager who bought him, two towering figures giving the club a presence, and another with his successor, two unruffled Dutchmen.
Van Dijk was unusually demonstrative when kissing the badge after scoring his late winner against West Ham on Sunday, but the captaincy means a lot to him. Not so much as a status symbol, but as a responsibility; a bridge between the dugout and the dressing room, he has helped Slot settle into the club and was taken aside by Klopp to give him prior notice before he told the team of his departure. That Van Dijk scored the goal that secured the first trophy of his captaincy, the Carabao Cup last year when a youthful team overcame Chelsea, was significant: he looks to lead by example.
He has bought into Liverpool, the culture and the history of the club, and was pleased, he said, when someone recently called him an adopted Scouser. He has family as well as footballing factors. Kevin De Bruyne spoke of the potential upheaval for his Manchester-born children when he leaves City. Van Dijk recently recounted watching his daughter in a school play, also featuring Wataru Endo’s son. “There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family,” he said.
It seemed a no-brainer for him to stay. It should have been for Liverpool to keep him, and not merely because there will be some upheaval when the vice-captain and right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold, almost certainly goes. The left half of Liverpool’s defence could change, too, if a long-term replacement for Andy Robertson is signed in the summer. Liverpool 2.0 has not really reached the back four yet, but it will soon. Van Dijk will be charged with straddling eras.
It is not only the captaincy that means his importance stretches beyond his own performances. He makes all his partners better. Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez all had the best form of their Liverpool career alongside Van Dijk. Now Ibrahima Konate is in a career-best campaign. Would he play as well without his sidekick? Liverpool would rather not find out. Or not yet, anyway,
Now they have postponed two rebuilds in the space of a week. There will come a time when they have to replace Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk. They may find each irreplaceable.
Thankfully for them, Van Dijk has always seemed intent on having longevity. Go back to 2019, and he said he would like to be remembered as “a legend of Liverpool”. If he already is, he can add to the legend before he eventually leaves.
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