Liverpool plan ‘mission’ for Van Dijk REPLACEMENT

Robin Bairner

26 Feb 2025 08:50 GMT
3 min read

Liverpool have plotted their strategy to find the replacement for Virgil van Dijk, according to football transfer news reporter Fabrizio Romano.

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Van Dijk is out of contract at Anfield at the end of the season, with his long-term future in doubt.

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STATS

Virgil van Dijk

D (C)

Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk

D (C)

Liverpool

27

Games
1

Goals
1

Assists

Rumours suggest he will have offers from the Saudi Pro League, yet equally there is optimism around the Merseyside club that he will extend his stay.

Nevertheless, with Van Dijk set to turn 34 in the summer, Arne Slot’s team need a succession plan for a player who remains at the peak of his game but is surely in his final years at the very elite level Liverpool are operating at.

To this end, the Premier League leaders are looking at a couple of options, including Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen.

Liverpool to watch Jorrel Hato

Another man they are keeping a close eye on is Jorrel Hato, who at 18 years old has made an exciting breakthrough at Ajax and promises to become one of the leading centre-backs in the game.

The Eredivisie outfit were insistent in January that Hato would be going nowhere, but in the summer the story could be different for the teenager. Liverpool want to be in a position to pounce if this proves the case.

“The Dutch club was very clear in January that there would be no negotiations at that point. He’s an important player for Francesco Farioli, for Ajax and is now one of the faces of the club. In the summer, top clubs will arrive,” Romano explained on his YouTube channel.

“Liverpool are looking at important centre-backs. It could be a talent because Liverpool love to invest in this type of player. It could be Dean Huijsen but it could also be Hato, who is being monitored by Liverpool. They’re planning two or three more missions in the Netherlands to follow his process. He’s surely a player on Liverpool’s shortlist.”

It is unclear what games of Hato’s Liverpool will take in, though they will surely be studying first and foremost Ajax’s most important fixtures as they seek to secure another Eredivisie title.