

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says “progress” has been made in protracted negotiations over a new contract.
The Netherlands defender’s current deal expires this summer and he has yet to sign an extension.
However, Van Dijk provided a positive update about his future when he spoke to reporters following Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Fulham.
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“There is progress, yeah,” he said.
Asked if that meant he would be staying at Liverpool beyond this season, he added: “I don’t know, we’ll see. Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see.
“I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again and we wanted to reward them.
“But I want them to be there Sunday again (at home to West Ham United) and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”
Van Dijk, 33, was left to rue Liverpool’s error-strewn first-half performance at Craven Cottage as their 26-game unbeaten league run was ended.
Arne Slot’s side remain 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games remaining.
“It was a poor day at the office for all of us,” Van Dijk said. “There were individual moments that should have been dealt with better. It was not acceptable as a team.
“First half, we scored a great goal, but we let them back into the game with sloppiness from ourselves and these things shouldn’t happen.
“Obviously second half we went one-v-one, we were trying as quickly as possible to get the second goal, we took a lot more risk. We tried to turn it around but unfortunately we couldn’t do it.
“On the first half, you can’t argue with the result. We have take it on the chin and try to beat West Ham next week.”
‘Van Dijk update felt significant’ – analysis
Virgil van Dijk has given the strongest indication yet that his contract saga will end with him staying at Liverpool.
It was only three weeks ago, following the Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, that the Dutchman said he had “no idea” where he would be playing his football next season. He said anyone claiming they knew where his future lay was “lying to your face”.
However, the tone was different when Van Dijk spoke to reporters at Craven Cottage on Sunday. He stopped short of providing any guarantees but the fact he mentioned that progress had been made in discussions felt significant.
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Internally at Liverpool, there’s long since been a confidence that an agreement would be reached with Van Dijk, who turns 34 in July.
His value to the club is immense — both on and off the pitch. And the player himself has repeatedly stated how much captaining Liverpool means to him.
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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