Liverpool plan to offer Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho new contracts in the not too distant future, according to a new report.
Both Van Dijk and Fabinho are currently out of action because of injury, with the former of the pair potentially ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury.
The duo have been key to Liverpool's recent success and prominent Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has stated that manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to resolve both of their futures as quickly as possible.Speaking on his new 'Here We Go Podcast', quoted by HITC, Romano stated that Liverpool will enter discussions with Van Dijk 'as soon as he recovers from his injury, remarking: “I expect that they will begin negotiations for a new contract in March. Same for Fabinho," Romano remarked.
Fabinho's possible new contract could be discussed a little earlier, owing to the fact that he's far more likely to return to action sooner than his Dutch counterpart. The Brazilian was deployed as a makeshift centre back when Van Dijk was ruled out with an ACL tear, but a hamstring injury suffered against Midtjylland in the Champions League has since put him on the injury table, too.
The Reds are also without Joe Gomez, after he suffered a serious knee injury while training with England; leaving Joel Matip as the club's only established first-team central defender.
This the first time Liverpool have been faced with a significant injury crisis since rising back to the top of the English game, and Klopp has already cited the lack of a pre-season - and subsequently congested fixture schedule owing to the global coronavirus pandemic - as a possible cause for an increase in injuries.
The German may be without Trent Alexander-Arnold after the international break, after he limped off against Manchester City, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alisson are two others who have had recent injury concerns.
More first team minutes could be afforded to inexperienced defensive duo Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams as a result, with the versatile James Milner likely to play his part in plugging the gaps.
Source : 90min