Virgil van Dijk in MLS! Jaap Stam tells Liverpool captain he could live American dream & earn 'a lot of money' if Reds don't renew contract - with Real Madrid 'only good option in Europe'

The Netherlands international is among those – alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold – that is seeing his current deal at Anfield run down. With no extension agreed as yet, the 33-year-old defender may become a free agent in the summer of 2025.

Fellow countryman Jaap Stam, who graced the Premier League with Manchester United in his playing days, believes Van Dijk could take on an entirely new challenge, telling Sports Lens: "If Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool then I could see him playing for a few years in the United States to see out his career, earning a lot of money. But I still see him as being a really important player at Liverpool and I can’t see why Liverpool wouldn’t try their best to keep him at the club because of that importance.

"I think he deserves a new contract and a new deal, maybe only for one season, and then you see where you go from there. You have to look at who would replace him in the transfer market or the academy but that’s extremely hard to do. It’s going to be very difficult to replace a player like Virgil and he deserves another one or two years, he’s shown he is still the best option for the club."

America may appeal to Van Dijk if ties with Liverpool have to be severed as there are few appealing options for him in Europe. Stam added: "I could see Virgil van Dijk saying in Europe, but he is playing in a Liverpool team that he knows very well and they have a real balance. If he goes and joins another club he will have new team-mates and his whole situation will change. You can say that the players at Bayern Munich or PSG aren’t up to the level of his team-mates at Liverpool.

"The style of play will change and it could be a bad thing for his career to leave. Look at how it was for Lionel Messi when he first joined PSG from Barcelona. It’s going to be a very important decision for him and the club and I think that Real Madrid might be the only good option for him in Europe at the moment."

Van Dijk is approaching the 12-year mark in British football, having spent time with Celtic and Southampton before completing a £75 million ($94m) transfer to Liverpool in January 2018. He has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Reds.