Unless something catastrophic happens, the Premier League crown is nearly in the bag for Liverpool and the club is also the reigning Champions League titlist. The Jurgen Klopp side is on a winning run for sure and the club will soon need to face the prize of success - the likelihood of losing star defender Virgil Van Dijk.
According to Paul Ince, Van Dijk is certainly on the radar of elite European clubs and it's only a matter that the Dutchman will get offers and there will be some that will be hard to refuse.
He is among the top finishers in the last Ballon d'Or award and as noted by Metro, Van Dijk is now acknowledged as one of the top defenders in the world of football. Liverpool paid £75 million to acquire the Dutch in 2018 and the investment paid off immediately.
When the Reds triumphed in the Champions League last season, a big part of the success was credited to Van Dijk. As an established star, the defender will be the target of rival clubs and the next concern for Klopp is to make sure Van Dijk will not be lured away, at least not too easy.
"It's a case of keeping the best players at Liverpool," Ince was reported as saying.
The Liverpool hero added Klopp losing a prized player like Van Dijk is nothing new. In 2018, the Reds saw Philippe Coutinho jumped to Camp Nou and that's because the Spanish giants were willing to pay the asking price, which The Daily Mirror said reached £100 million.
It's not the remote that a better offer will test the resolve of Van Dijk to remain under Klopp, Ince said.
"Will someone come in for Van Dijk? When Barcelona or Real Madrid come knocking it's hard to say no," the former Premier League star was reported as saying.
Ince, who also played for Manchester United, explained that by being so good Liverpool got the attention of European giants and the same thing applies to the Liverpool defender, whose stature as a player further rose with the Reds.
"That's the thing about being a victim of your own success, when you're doing so many great things like Liverpool are doing it alerts other big clubs like Barcelona or Madrid," according to Ince.
He added Van Dijk is expected to see a flood of suitor clubs that will be willing to pay the price to leave England.
When these tempting proposals start coming in, the pressure will only build up and there is no assurance Van Dijk will not cave in to the lure of playing for the biggies in Spain and get paid handsomely.
"It's hard to say no as a player when they come in," Ince said.
