Virgil van Dijk has indicated he’s willing to leave Liverpool to join Champions League club

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There have been some big claims about Virgil van Dijk’s future emerging from Turkey this week amid the centre-back’s time at Anfield nearing its end.The Dutchman will turn 35 in July, at which point he will be in the final 12 months of his latest Liverpool contract.Van Dijk leaving in 2027 would make sense given his age and the Reds’ usual stance on offering older players new deals, but one journalist in Turkey has claimed he’s open to leaving to join Galatasaray. Should Curtis Jones keep his place at right-back against Aston Villa?

Or is Joe Gomez a better option? Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC Virgil van Dijk willing to leave for GalatasarayReports earlier this month stated that Galatasaray will approach Van Dijk about a transfer this summer.Now, journalist Arda Özkurt has gone one step further and suggested the centre-back is willing to leave Anfield for the Turkish club.As quoted by Haber Sarikimizi, he said: “A representative from Virgil van Dijk’s management company was at Rams Park for the championship match.“Virgil van Dijk has indicated that he is willing to leave for Galatasaray on a free transfer, but Liverpool’s stance will be decisive.

“Virgil van Dijk wants a 3-year contract with Galatasaray, consisting of 2+1 years (with a one-year extension if he plays a certain number of matches).”Of course, there is already a precedent set with Liverpool allowing players to leave for free before their contracts are up.Mohamed Salah is departing for nothing this summer, despite, like Van Dijk, having a contract that runs until 2027.But there do seem to be other factors that played a role in that decision being made, namely, Salah hitting out in an interview post-Leeds United earlier this season.The Egyptian’s relationship with Slot, while seemingly amicable at the moment, does appear to have been affected and may have played some role in his exit.But when it comes to Van Dijk, it is hard to see why the player or Liverpool would want to sanction a free transfer this year.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox