Virgil van Dijk exposes Mohamed Salah with perfect response to Real Madrid transfer question after Liverpool win

Virgil van Dijk was quizzed connected his aboriginal pursuing Liverpool’s 2-0 triumph implicit Real Madrid successful the Champions League – and his reply could not person been much antithetic to that fixed by Mohamed Salah astatine the weekend.

Salah’s revelation – that helium was ‘probably much retired than in’ – dominated the pre-match treatment up of Wednesday’s heavyweight Champions League clash astatine Anfield.

The Egyptian missed a punishment connected the night, soon aft Kylian Mbappe failed with a spot-kick of his own, but a brace of second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo secured the Reds a deserved win.

The effect extended Liverpool’s near-faultless commencement to the play successful each competitions, with the Merseyside giants winning each but 2 of their games since Arne Slot took implicit the reins from Jurgen Klopp successful the summer.

But questions linger implicit the aboriginal of cardinal men Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who are each retired of declaration astatine the extremity of the 2024/25 campaign, and rumours and gossip are apt to swirl until the concern becomes clearer.

‘We are astir successful December and I haven’t received an connection to enactment astatine the nine yet truthful I americium astir apt much retired than in,’ Salah told NBC Sports aft Liverpool’s triumph implicit Southampton connected Sunday.

‘I person been astatine the nine for galore years. There is nary nine similar this but successful the extremity it is not successful my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received thing yet astir my future.’

It’s not the archetypal clip Salah has teased his imaginable departure this season, with the guardant appearing to corroborate that this twelvemonth would beryllium his past with Liverpool successful the aftermath of the side’s triumph astatine Manchester United successful September.

Van Dijk has opted to stay acold much tight-lipped than his team-mate and the Dutchman gave a typically chill effect erstwhile collared successful the mixed portion past night.

Asked whether helium plans to enactment astatine Liverpool, Van Dijk told Spanish TV programme El Chringuito TV: ‘What a nonstop question from you! They don’t inquire maine that direct.

’But listen, determination is, astatine the moment, thing I tin say. The lone happening that I tin accidental is I’m afloat focused connected Man City from present on.’

The newsman was not done there, though, telling Van Dijk that Madrid severely needed a top-class cardinal defender of his ilk.

‘Do they? I don’t know.’

Reminded of Madrid’s wounded problems successful defence, Van Dijk replied: ‘But [Antonio] Rudiger is there, no?’

Further pressed connected whether a determination to Madrid could beryllium imaginable adjacent summer, the Liverpool skipper responded: ‘In the summer?!

‘Like I said to you before, the main absorption astatine the moment, for me, is Man City.

‘Liverpool, I’m afloat focused connected that, and I person thing other to accidental regarding my future.’

At a property league connected Tuesday, Liverpool caput manager Slot insisted helium was relaxed astir the concern pursuing Salah’s latest remark astir his future.

‘I’ve said galore times that we don’t stock this [details astir negotiations] implicit here,’ Slot told reporters.

‘The lone happening I tin accidental is that if I look astatine my line-ups, Mo is much successful than out. That punctuation I tin springiness you.’

He continued: ‘I don’t deliberation helium is distracted astatine all, I haven’t seen that aft the Manchester United crippled erstwhile helium made immoderate comments oregon aft a station [on societal media] which you told maine about, I didn’t spot thing contiguous successful training.

‘He’s conscionable afloat focused connected the crippled time and I deliberation these kinds of things are large successful the media and with fans but I didn’t spot 1 subordinate speech astir it astatine training, astatine slightest portion I was there.

‘Players are besides focused connected the abbreviated word and that is Madrid and Manchester City [at the weekend] and by the clip Mo’s declaration is extended, players don’t look astatine it that way. We arsenic a nine of people bash but the players don’t.

‘So I don’t deliberation determination are immoderate distractions for him oregon the players and decidedly not for me. I was moving yesterday connected preparing the squad successful the champion imaginable mode and determination was not 1 clip wherever I thought astir sitting present contiguous talking astir Mo.’

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