Virgil van Dijk FINALLY settles Liverpool future after Carabao Cup final

Virgil van Dijk should have settled his Liverpool future after the Reds' defeat in the Carabao Cup final.

Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards will have been watching proceedings closely at Wembley. There will be plenty they will not have liked.

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Mo Salah's poor performance yet again also highlights why Liverpool have been reluctant to renew his current deal. He looked rugged on the pitch and struggled to beat his man - not for the first time recently he was outplayed.

That will raise question marks about the Egyptian's future but he's not the only one with an uncertain outlook.

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Virgil van Dijk is in a similar boat. However, conversely he will have settled his future in a positive way despite the Reds' defeat.

Why Virgil van Dijk has just settled Liverpool future

There has been a lot of debates surrounding Liverpool's trio with expiring contracts at the end of the season about whether they all deserve their contract extensions.

Even Van Dijk has faced scrutiny. After all, he's not getting any younger. Is there not a worry his performances will start to drop as he inevitably enters the twilight of his career?

Despite the season he has had this continues to be a question mark around Van Dijk, but it's a question mark he should have completed abolished after his performance in the Carabao Cup final.

Things could have been a lot worse for Liverpool if their club captain wasn't on the pitch.

Van Dijk essentially kept the Reds in the game single-handedly, defending at times as Slot rotated his formation heavily and subbed off Ibrahima Konate for Liverpool to attack Newcastle.

The defender handled Newcastle's counter attacks with brilliant poise and often put his body on the line to make sure the Reds chance never really waned.

It was only in the dying embers of the game when Liverpool's fate had been decided.

And as the Reds' fate was decided as will have Van Dijk's. It's clear out of the Liverpool trio he is the one who needs to be tied down to the club the most.

Not only is he the club captain and essential in the dressing room he is also irreplaceable on the pitch. You could probably replace Alexander-Arnold's creativity and Salah's goal-scoring prowess but you cannot replace Van Dijk's defensive aura.

Hughes and Edwards will have been watching that game and it should have been enough for them to realise Van Dijk's future is settled.

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If logic prevails, he will be staying at Liverpool. No question about it.

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