Virgil van Dijk’s new Liverpool contract has one EXTRAORDINARY detail

In the space of a week, the Reds have secured not one but two major new deals.

First it was Mohamed Salah who put pen to a two year contract extension last week. Now it's Virgil van Dijk who celebrates staying at Liverpool for two more years.

READ MORE: Journalist CONFIRMS Reds move for £43m attacker

It has been a long few months for Liverpool fans. The truth is, there were several times when it felt like one or the other could leave on a free. Sometimes it felt like even both of them could.

But Richard Hughes' long game paid off and it seems like everyone is happy. Salah and Van Dijk are both clearly delighted to stay meanwhile Hughes does not have to worry about replacing them in the immediate future at least.

Keeping Van Dijk is also a massive moral boost to the squad. He's the club captain and he is so important in that Liverpool dressing room.

Having him stay on and lead this exciting new generation that is set to go under change in the summer is an exciting prospect.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris Saint-Germain commit to massive Ibrahima Konate move

Virgil van Dijk's extraordinary contract terms

Of course, Van Dijk wanted to sign his contract in his own terms. He is still one of the best centre-backs in world football. He's set to turn 34-years-old in the summer and he knows this is his last shot at signing a big deal.

It's the kind of deal that could set his family up for life and it looks like he has struck some extraordinary terms.

According to a report from David Ornstein in The Athletic, Van Dijk's contract includes some staggering details. His report claims that Van Dijk is now 'thought to be the best paid defender' in Europe.

There are no breaks or release clauses in the contract and according to Ornstein Van Dijk will earn around £400k per week, which is an extraordinary amount.

This does make sense though for Van Dijk and for Liverpool. You have to reward your best players in order to entice them to stay and while £400k per week is an extraordinary figure, Van Dijk does deserve it.

He's the club's captain and one of the longest serving players in the team. On top of that he's one of the best players in the world - and definitely the best defender.

He's shown no signs of aging either. Some players may have lost a yard of pace by this stage of their careers but not Van Dijk.

Virgil van Dijk clocked the fastest top speed (34.9km/h) for Liverpool in the Champions League this season, which also ranked him among the top five centre-backs after the group-stages of the tournament.

He's still one of the best around and deserves this new extraordinary contract.

Meanwhile, us fans are just delighted he's staying on. We probably would have offered him even more to stay.

READ MORE: Trey Nyoni closes in on DREAM move as Arne Slot confirms plans

Credit to Hughes as well for delivering on one of his key objectives after joining the club.