Virgil van Dijk has warned that losing Alisson Becker would be a major blow to Liverpool even as reports say Juventus have opened contact with the goalkeeper's representatives and the club prepares for a decisive summer.
Van Dijk, speaking while his team cope without the injured goalkeeper, underlined Alisson's standing in the squad and insisted the squad would find a way to adapt if a move happened, while also saying the Brazilian is aiming to return quickly to help for the last four games of the season.
The scale of the issue is concrete: Alisson has been sidelined with a muscle problem for the last seven games, during which Giorgi Mamardashvili and Freddie Woodman have deputised. Liverpool remain hopeful he will be available for Sunday's trip to Manchester United, and earlier this year the club exercised a one-year option in his contract — extending his deal until June 2027.
Those facts sit awkwardly against a fresh swell of transfer talk. Reports have linked Juventus with a move for Alisson, with TEAMtalk saying the Italian club are pushing strongly and have tabled a lucrative long-term contract. There are also reports of contact between Juventus and Alisson's representatives, and Liverpool have been publicly cast as assessing goalkeeping options ahead of what could be a pivotal summer.
That assessment has real names attached. Diogo Costa has re-emerged on Liverpool's shortlist after years as Porto's first-team goalkeeper: he has been a regular since 2019, is Porto captain, has made close to 250 appearances, earned 42 international caps for Portugal and is a two-time Primeira Liga winner. Costa signed a new long-term contract late last year and is understood to carry a release clause of about £52million. Brighton's Bart Verbruggen, Sunderland's Robin Roefs and Manchester City's James Trafford have also been mentioned as targets.
Van Dijk framed the debate in personal terms while refusing to be drawn into speculation. He said Alisson is one of the leaders of the team and, in his view, one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Van Dijk added that he would love for Alisson to stay, that everyone can feel a certain way about the rumours, and that if anything concrete emerges they will find out; but he also accepted that there will come a day when players move on and the club would have to adapt.
The tension is sharp and specific. Liverpool activated the contract option earlier this year — a move that suggests a desire for continuity — yet Arne Slot warned last week that the club's hierarchy could still face a decision over Alisson this summer. At the same time, the goalkeeper's recent absence and a history of hamstring problems in recent years make his physical reliability part of the calculus for both club and player.
For Liverpool the practical questions are immediate: can they keep a 33-year-old leader who remains highly rated but injury-affected, and if not, can they replace him with a first-choice of comparable stature without destabilising a defence that has relied on Alisson since he arrived in 2018? For Juventus, TEAMtalk's account of a strong push and a lucrative long-term offer frames this as a clear recruitment target rather than speculative noise.
The single most consequential unanswered question is whether Juventus will convert reported interest and contact into a concrete offer that Liverpool accept — and whether Liverpool will be able to land a successor such as Diogo Costa, whose new contract and sizeable release clause complicate any move. Whatever happens this summer, the decision will reshape Liverpool's goalkeeper position and test the club's transfer judgment as much as its resolve to keep a player Van Dijk called central to the dressing room.
