Liverpool face battle with Champions League winners for star man

Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League table.

In any other year, this would be a decent return for the Reds, especially since we're only 10 games into the season.

However, this time around, it's far from ideal. The Anfield outfit finished fifth last season which resulted in Arne Slot being relieved of his duties.

So, with the arrival of Iraola, fans were expecting a major improvement, especially with the extra £150 million he spent on bringing more players in.

This topsy-turvy form has led fans to ask the Reds to add some fresh talent to their ranks in January but, it has also caused interest from other clubs in Liverpool's players to emerge.

Barcelona want to sign Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool have a lot of tough decisions to make over the next few weeks.

The January transfer window is now just around the corner and Liverpool have a handful of players who's contracts are set to expire in June 2027.

This means that, by the time January comes around, all of those players will be able to speak to clubs outside of England about a free transfer.

There are many big-named players on the chopping block but, the departure that would affect Liverpool the most is Virgil van Dijk.

He's been the heart of Liverpool's defence for as long as anyone can remember so, the fact that Barcelona are now wanting to sign him is massively concerning.

"As Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk enters the final months of his contract, the 35-year-old Dutch centre-back is attracting strong interest from Barcelona, Trabzonspor, AC Milan, and Juventus," Ekrem Konur wrote.

"Available on a potential free transfer, Europe's heavyweights are circling for a world-class defensive leader, while Trabzonspor are also positioning themselves to push for a sensational Bosman move.

"All eyes are on Anfield's contract decision as Van Dijk weighs up the next major chapter of his career."

Liverpool can't let Virgil van Dijk join Barcelona

The prospect of Van Dijk exiting Liverpool is very strong at the moment.

The Dutchman only has around seven months left on his deal and, since no talks have been held between Liverpool and their captain yet, some major concerns are starting to emerge.

The fact that Barcelona are even interested in signing Van Dijk should prove to everyone at Anfield that there is still an elite player within him.

To be fair, his performances from this season alone could tell anyone that.

Obviously, with this level of club interested in signing Van Dijk, Liverpool are going to have a battle on their hands to keep him at Anfield.

Talks about how long the contract will be, whether he's going to be a regular starter and whether his fitness levels are where they need to be will probably dominate conversations.

But for now, the Reds just need to make their mind up about who they want to keep before it's too late.