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Odds on next Liverpool manager shift dramatically with one clear favourite
Published 12:09 31 Jan 2024 GMT
Homesport
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has re-affirmed his commitment to the club, claiming that a recent interview had been 'taken out of context.'
Van dijk had said that he needs 'clarification about what the club wants for the future,' in the wake of Jurgen Klopp's announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
Having been asked whether he saw himself as being part of the next era, Van Dijk responded by saying, "That's a big question. I don't know."
But the 32-year-old Dutch-man has moved to allay Liverpool fan's concerns by stating that he is 'fully committed to the club.'
"It's much taken out of context. To be 100% clear, I'm fully committed to the club," said Van Dijk, speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast.
"I love the club, I love the fans. It is fully taken out of context. It's not about me, it's not about I, It's about us and nothing has changed."
The centre half, who along with Mo Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold, has 18 months left on his contract, says that the news of Klopp's departure comes as a 'shock' but that the club still mean business.
"Five days ago we weren't even speaking about my contract, so it's silly.
"My full focus is on making sure this year can be a very special year and obviously a big announcement in the last couple of days, it's been a shock to each one of us connected to the club. I feel exactly what the fans have been feeling.
"We mean business here.
"We want to crack on, we want to achieve things we dreamed of at the start of the season.
"Don't get it twisted, I'm fully committed to the club. I love it. I'm the captain and we're going to go for it all. Let's see how that goes."
On the subject of Klopp's replacement, former midfielder Xabi Alonso remains the 2/5 favourite for the post, though Liverpool are 'discussing internally' the potential of appointing Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi as their next manager, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Two new names in the market are Roger Schmidt and Rúben Amorim, who are currently battling for top spot in the Portuguese League as managers of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon respectively.
As a fellow German, Schmidt has a similar profile to Klopp having began his managerial career in the Bundesliga while Amorim is a young Portuguese manager who is very highly rated.
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