Van Dijk on Alexander-Arnold Contract: “We Don’t Know What’s Going to Happen”
The Liverpool captain reflected on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract and says whatever happens next, he deserved his moment of celebration on Sunday.
The general belief is that Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave his boyhood club Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer to join Spanish giants Real Madrid, with the 26-year-old right back thought to be seeking a change of scenery and a new challenge.
Given Liverpool’s recent European history of being on the wrong side of results against Madrid, that the Reds are currently on the march to domestic league title number 20, and the player’s homegrown status this has led to consternation and plenty of proverbial spilled column ink.
As captain Virgil van Dijk sees things, though, he’d rather focus on the present and the past than obsess about a future he claims remains uncertain, with even Alexander-Arnold’s teammates not certain where the player will end up next year.
“Since I joined the club he has been a fantastic player and there’s a lot of good things that he will always be remembered for if he decides to leave,” Van Dijk said following the match. “Whatever may happen in the future, that’s something he has to resolve.
“We don’t know as a group what’s going to happen, but he’s a Liverpool player at this point and he’s important for our team. He is already under a lot of pressure so there is no point for me to put him on the spot whatsoever.”
All of that, of course, is true. But it’s also probably true that Alexander-Arnold’s desire to keep his decision-making process under wraps doesn’t seem to have helped him, leading only to an information vacuum—and as nature abhors a vacuum, it has been consistently filled by speculation.
Van Dijk himself as well as superstar forward Mohamed Salah overcame that by signalling their desire to extend their own expiring contracts, something both did earlier this month. Perhaps, though, if your desire isn’t to extend there’s no good way to say a long goodbye.
“I think we forget that we are dealing with a human being,” Van Dijk added. “He has gone through so many moments in the last couple of months and everyone will have an opinion. There’s a lot of noise and obviously everyone can argue if it’s his fault, [but] it’s just part of life nowadays.
“So when he scores a big goal, I think he deserves applause for stepping up and to soak it all in because whether he stays or leaves, these are moments you shouldn’t take for granted to give us the opportunity to finish it off. So I think he deserved that.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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