Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes extending the contracts of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah is reflective of the “amazing ambitions” the club has going forward.
Liverpool confirmed on Thursday that Van Dijk had signed a new two-year contract at Anfield, ending months of speculation over his future.
Negotiations had been taking place for several months, with Salah also having signed a new deal last week.
“It tells you that we want to keep our best players, the players that have played a great season for so many years in a row now,” Slot said on Friday.
“That we are able to keep them when they are free agents tells you about the amazing ambitions we have for the coming years. Virgil is so important to us. He’s a great personality and a great player.”
Van Dijk has made more than 300 appearances for Liverpool during his seven years at the club, winning seven major honours including the Premier League and the Champions League.
The 33-year-old has started every league game for Slot’s side this season to put them on the brink of winning Liverpool’s 20th league title, and Slot admitted it is hard to overstate the impact he has had at Anfield.
“It’s almost difficult to describe because you know how important he is when you see him play,” Slot said. “Everybody has given him compliments over the years about how good he is as a defender.
“I mostly watch football looking at ball possession and he’s so good at bringing the ball out from the back. And then the leader he is, in and around the training centre, I haven’t worked with a player like him in terms of his leadership and the energy he brings to the team in every training centre.”
While Salah and Van Dijk have both committed to new deals, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is yet to sign a new contract, and a source has told ESPN Real Madrid are “very confident” of signing him on a free transfer this summer.
