Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk personally confirms that contract extension negotiations between him and the club have made "breakthrough progress"..

Liverpool captain, Netherlands international center back Virgil van Dijk personally confirmed in an exclusive interview with The Athletic's resident renowned English Liverpool team correspondent James Pearce, on Monday that the contract extension negotiations between him and the club have made "breakthrough progress".

According to Pearce's report, in the interview, Van Dijk personally confirmed that the negotiations between his agent and the club have made very positive progress. Although the two sides are still in the stage of internal discussion and some details have not yet been agreed upon, and he cannot promise that he will stay at the club next season, he reiterated that he still always loves Liverpool and is focused on ensuring that the team can maintain its advantage and win the Premier League title.

"Yes, we have made some positive breakthroughs," Van Dijk said.

"I don't know and can't promise whether this means I will still be a player here after the end of this season. We have to wait and see. Listen, this is still at the stage of internal discussion. We still have some details to discuss. Let's wait and see how things will develop."

"I still love this club very much. I also love our fans. Although we are in a poor form recently, they are still willing to give us the warmest support. Now, I just want to reward and thank them for their love by winning the title at the end of the season like all of us."

"I hope that this Sunday in the home game against West Ham United, they can still come to the stadium and support us with the warmest applause and cheers, and once again let everyone see how strong the fan support atmosphere is at Anfield as usual."

Soon after, Pearce's colleague, The Athletic's resident renowned English transfer journalist David Ornstein, also confirmed this in an interview with American media outlet NBC Sports.

He said that, as of now, it is only a matter of time before Van Dijk successfully renews his contract with Liverpool.

The same is true for his teammate, Egypt international right winger Mohamed Salah.

Despite the fact that Real Madrid has been aggressively pursuing him, the Reds are still confident that they will successfully renew their contract with vice-captain, England international right-wing back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

At the same time, Ornstein also took the opportunity to refute the rumours falsely claiming that Real Madrid is also pursuing Van Dijk, calling it nonsense.

Virgil van Dijk, 33, was born on July 8, 1991 in Breda, the Netherlands. He is 1.95 meters tall and plays as a center back. He has dual Dutch and Surinamese nationality. His mother is often falsely called "Chin Fo Sieeuw, who immigrated to Suriname from Guangzhou in 1920."

Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018 for a record transfer fee of £75 million, becoming one of the most expensive defenders in football history.

Since becoming a member of the Reds, Van Dijk has played 313 times for Liverpool in all competitions so far, scoring 26 goals and providing 13 assistis. During which he has won the Carabao Cup twice, the Premier League once, the English FA Cup once, the English Community Shield once, the UEFA Champions League once, the UEFA Super Cup once and the FIFA World Club Cup once with the club.