Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk REPLACEMENT has price tag REDUCED

Now that the club has allowed Virgil Van Dijk's contract to enter its final year, Liverpool risk losing their best defender for free at the end of the season.

While the Reds' captain has spoken about his wish to continue playing at the highest level, extension talks have so far proved unproductive.

Having arrived at the club as a Christmas present for Liverpool fans in 2018 for a club-record fee of £75million, the Dutchman has more than repaid the outlay spent on him.

Performing at the peak of his powers for almost seven years now, Van Dijk has been widely considered to be the best centre-back in the world, with others claiming he's the best the Premier League has ever seen.

But, while Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot have grown to rely on the centre-back for almost every Liverpool game, the club has let his contract run down.

Now 33 years old, it would be logical to assume that the player is losing his fitness and so now might be the time to move on, but yet he still stands out as one of the best defenders around.

As contract negotiations continue to stall, Liverpool risk losing him for free, as he is able to negotiate with other clubs from January 1st should talks collapse altogether.

Filling the hole left by Van Dijk

As a result of the situation the club has left itself in, it is now on the lookout for potential replacements should the Dutchman leave this season because of their own negligence.

According to Florian Plettenberg for Sky Sport Germany, Liverpool are targeting French centre-back Castello Lukeba from RB Leipzig.

The 21-year-old has been in fine form so far this season, earning his side four clean sheets across their endeavours in the Champions League and the Bundesliga - where they sit level on points with Bayern Munich after seven games of the new campaign.

Lukeba is considered a player on the radar of many of the top clubs, including Liverpool. While his release clause of €90m may have seemed to some admirers to be too steep, Plettenberg has now reported that the Frenchman's release clause could drop down to €65m next summer.

Liverpool's future French partnership?

Ibrahima Konate is reportedly set to sign a new long-term contract at the club and should Van Dijk end up leaving Anfield in the summer, Lukeba could slot in right beside him as a player who plays in exactly Van Dijk's position.

While Lukeba has yet to break into the French team, given their remarkable stock of defenders, he has featured for the French U-21 team and Liverpool may have the former World Champions' future centre-back partnership.

Many Liverpool fans won't want to even consider the possibility that Van Dijk could leave the club, and his contract extension talks could eventually yield a breakthrough before it's too late.

But a move for Lukeba certainly would make long-term sense for the club and now that his release clause has been reduced, the potential transfer has been significantly more financially viable.