Virgil van Dijk's future is already being treated like a 2027 free-transfer battle. He is 35 and his Liverpool contract is reported to expire in the summer of 2027, with multiple outlets saying AC Milan are the club most strongly linked to him and Real Madrid also in the frame if he becomes available.

Liverpool's contract position

The clearest line from the reporting is that no deal has been settled. Pete O’Rourke of football365.com said: "No decision has been made either way really on Virgil van Dijk’s long-term future."

That sits alongside Goal's line that Van Dijk has not yet been offered a formal renewal deal by Liverpool. The club have used him in 5 Premier League matches so far this season, so this is not a case of a fringe player being pushed toward the exit. It is a captain still central to the side while his future is left open.

The clubs being linked

The interest is not being framed as vague noise. Carlo Pellegatti said on football365.com: "I continue to say that Gerry Cardinale (Milan’s owner) made clear: ‘Either we get him now by paying or next year for free.’ I said that Van Dijk will arrive at Milan sooner or later."

Pellegatti added: "We’ll see if Cardinale changes his mind or not, but I can assure you it was not just a name I pulled out of thin air."

Milan's angle is obvious enough. They have 11 Serie A points from 5 matches, while Real Madrid have 15 La Liga points from 7 matches. Both clubs are being discussed as sides that could move for an elite defender without needing to sell the story as a long rebuild. Van Dijk's age makes that conversation easier, even if Liverpool still have him starting regularly.

The other strand is Liverpool's own succession talk. Football365 and TeamTalk have both said Micky van de Ven is being looked at as a possible successor, with a reported fee between £80m and £90m.

That is not a confirmed replacement plan, and it should not be treated like one. It does, though, show how quickly the market has started to frame Van Dijk as a player whose next move could reshape more than one club's plans.

Van Dijk remains central for Liverpool, but the free-agent chatter is not going away. If the contract picture still has not changed by the summer of 2027, Milan and Madrid are likely to keep his name in the mix.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 6 outlets. How we work →