Arne Slot may have just made Liverpool fans’ day even sweeter with a comment he made after the Reds’ late win over West Ham, which leaves them needing just two more wins to be crowned Premier League champions.
Virgil van Dijk thundered home the winning goal in the 89th minute shortly after a fortuitous equaliser for the Irons at the other end and then proceeded to kiss the LFC badge on his shirt.
With the captain reportedly close to agreeing a new contract at Anfield, the celebration of his decisive moment in front of the Kop appeared to be a pointed one, and his boss later did his bit to crank up the excitement levels among supporters even more.
Slot appears to drop massive contract hint
Speaking to reporters after the match, Slot appeared to hint that there could be major contractual news at Liverpool between now and next Sunday’s game against Leicester.
The Reds’ head coach said (via Lewis Steele on X): “The competition has never been as strong as this season. We still have to win two games. In the meantime a contract extension could happen but our full focus is on Leicester City.”
Slot usually shuts the door on contract talk…not this time!
Any time Slot has been asked about contracts during the season, he’s immediately batted off the question with a diplomatic answer giving absolutely nothing away. Therefore, for him to say that an extension ‘could happen’ over the next seven days feels quite significant.
The obvious candidate as to who could be the player to pen a new deal is Van Dijk, whose current terms at Anfield end in June. The same was true of Mo Salah before his two-year renewal was announced on Friday, while Trent Alexander-Arnold looks as though he’ll be leaving for Real Madrid.
After months of uncertainty which cast a shadow over what has been a superb season on the pitch, it’s a massive relief to finally be getting closure on the futures of those three players, even if it stings to lose the vice-captain on a free transfer (unless there’s a dramatic volte-face in the coming weeks).
If we go into the Leicester game with a new contract secured for the Dutch defender, it’d provide another massive lift for the Reds, who could even clinch the Premier League title next Sunday if they win at the King Power Stadium and Arsenal lose at Ipswich earlier in the afternoon.
Frustration was the prevailing mood among Liverpool fans this time last week after the defeat at Fulham. The coming fortnight could witness the double celebration of Van Dijk renewing his commitment to the club and a top-flight triumph to go along with it!
