Virgil van Dijk is out of contract at Liverpool at the end of this season, and according to a new claim, a European club “want to sign” him next summer.

The 35-year-old is now firmly among the greatest players in Reds history, proving to be one of the best centre-backs of his generation, winning the Champions League, Premier League and many other trophies.

Even Van Dijk showed that he is human in the 4-3 win at home to Villarreal on Tuesday, however, making an error for the opening goal and admitting he wasn’t at his best after the game:

“It was a terrible start. I think the saying is you fight an uphill battle, and as a defender it is pretty difficult to come back from it. I tried but it was a bad day at the office personally, but we do it together with 11 players. Fortunately it didn’t happen too many times in my Liverpool career but I was not the best, but we won and it’s not about me. It’s all about us.”

Van Dijk is now in the final year of his Liverpool contract, with no movement taking place regarding an extension, which is a concerning situation to be in.

Other clubs will undoubtedly be eyeing the Dutchman on a free transfer in 2027, and a respected source on X has now said the following regarding the situation:

“Super Lig giants Trabzonspor want to sign Virgil van Dijk this summer. Van Dijk’s first choice is to stay at Liverpool, but no agreement has been made yet.”

Liverpool must avoid a Virgil van Dijk reunion with Mo Salah

Van Dijk is showing this season that he remains largely as good as ever, despite an off night against Villarreal, so handing him a contract extension makes complete sense for Liverpool.

He may not be getting any younger, but like Thiago Silva, who played at the top level until he was 40, his elite positional sense and all-round brilliance should remain a force for several more years.

Seeing Van Dijk leave next year, potentially alongside Alisson, would be an enormous blow for Andoni Iraola, with Liverpool’s captain hailed by Jamie Carragher earlier this year:

“At Liverpool a lot of people get called legends, because they have won the league or the Champions League, there’s lots of them,” said Carragher as he reflected on Van Dijk’s latest display.

“But if you want to differentiate between, I call them giants of the club. I’m talking like Stevie [Steven Gerrard], Kenny Dalglish, [Graeme] Souness, Alan Hansen, John Barnes, Mo Salah, the top sort of seven or eight players.

“Without a doubt he is right in the middle of that. And he’s not at the bottom of the list, I can assure you. He will go down as one of the greatest players ever to play for Liverpool – not one of the greatest centre-backs, one of the greatest players.”

A move to Trabzonspor would see Van Dijk reunite with Mohamed Salah, and while that would be great to see in the eyes of many, Reds supporters should want to avoid it at all costs.