Liverpool next captain NAMED as pundit predicts Van Dijk replacement

Liverpool could run into significant difficulty at the end of this season should no new contracts be agreed with Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk. 

The high-profile trio are all among the club's top earners and are currently set to depart when their terms expire in 2025.

Read more: Dario Osorio targetted by Liverpool and Man Utd

The Reds have been linked with replacements for all three with the likes of Michael Kayode and Denzel Dumfries named as potential Alexander-Arnold successors and Mohammed Kudus and Dario Osorio tipped to come into the club in the place of Salah.

At centre back it would appear that Goncalo Inacio and Loic Bade are among the club's preferred candidates to arrive next summer but there could be an opportunity to save significant fees in the transfer market if solutions are instead sourced from within.

Konate tipped to lead

Contract talks are reported to be underway with Ibrahima Konate, whose current deal expires in 2026, but who has been tipped to lead Arne Slot's defence in the years ahead.

A new deal has been agreed with Jarell Quansah, the 21-year-old homegrown prospect who took his chance to make an impression in the first team under Jurgen Klopp last season.

The England under-21 international began this season as Slot's first-choice partner for Van Dijk but owing to a poor show in the opening game of the Premier League season against Ipswich he has been left out for Konate since.

However Quansah remains a fine prospect and should get his opportunities in the first team sooner rather than later, especially if Van Dijk ends up leaving next summer.

Onuoha says Quansah can be Liverpool captain

In fact the former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believes that Quansah will be groomed as a long-term replacement for the Dutch captain, both as a starting centre-back and club captain in the years ahead.

"Quansah is starting from a younger age than Van Dijk did at Liverpool, so there is no reason to say he could not be the next Van Dijk," he wrote in a BBC column.

"If things go his way then there is potential for him being as important to Liverpool in the long term as the Dutchman is, so why not aspire to be the captain of Liverpool?

"Having been in this situation myself, I would say, be happy that you have earned yourself a new contract, but the hard work continues now and you have to be ready.

"We have seen through recent history that somebody can just go down and you need to be available. When you are available, you cannot take time to be ready - you have to be ready from the get go.

"It is a winning mentality at Liverpool and that is a challenge you have to face. You cannot be the weak link in a team trying to dominate."