Liverpool consider Xabi Alonso offer for Reds midfielder as Van Dijk comes clean on contract situation

Liverpool are weighing up the possible sale of Tyler Morton to one of two European sides, though Bayer Leverkusen have also made a tantalising counter offer, while club captain Virgil van Dijk has come clean on his future and with his contract at Anfield winding down.

The Merseysiders have started a new era under Arne Slot in near-perfect fashion having won both their opening Premier League games by 2-0 scorelines. That ensures Liverpool are just one of four Premier League sides with 100% records so far and raises hopes that the Reds could be on for an excellent first season under their manager.

However, while Slot soon hopes to officially secure a first signing of his era in the coming days in the form of Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Marmadashvili, it is unlikely the supporters will catch a glimpse of their new goalkeeper any time soon with the towering Georgian set to remain with the LaLiga side for at least one season, and possibly two, more seasons yet.

As a result, there is a growing possibility that Liverpool will complete the summer window with any new arrivals added to their squad. And while they are being linked with possible late moves for the likes of Takefusa Kubo and Federico Chiesa, Slot has regularly insisted it would not be an issue if he did not add to his pool this summer.

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On the flipside, Liverpool have streamlined their squad by allowing a number of fringe stars to move on and with sporting director Richard Hughes already adding around £60m this summer by offloading the likes of Fabio Carvalho, Sepp van den Berg and Bobby Clark.

Liverpool transfers: Alonso makes move for Tyler Morton

Despite the failure to bring in their top summer target in Martin Zubimendi, Slot already has a plethora of midfield options at his disposal, with Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Stefan Bajcetic and the upcoming Trey Nyoni at his disposal.

That depth of talent has left another talented youngster in Morton struggling to find his place in the squad and the 21-year-old has spent the last two seasons out on loan in the Championship, initially with Blackburn and then last season, with Hull City.

And while both RB Leipzig and Atalanta are understood to have made enquiries over a possible transfer move for the holding midfielder this summer, Liverpool’s £20m valuation of the star has appeared to have put them both off.

Nonetheless, Atalanta are understood to be readying a new approach for the star, which could give Slot the chance to further add to his transfer kitty ahead of future windows.

As an alternative to Morton’s sale, however, TEAMtalk understands that Liverpool have now been approached by Bayer Leverkusen, who would like to take Morton on a season’s loan.

Xabi Alonso’s side are the reigning Bundesliga champions and playing some brilliant stuff under the former Reds midfielder. As such, a move to Germany would be the perfect next step for Morton, if the Reds decide to accept the offer.

Morton has not made the cut for Liverpool’s matchday squad on either of Slot’s first two matches in charge so far, so does appear some distance down the pecking order. As a result, Slot is understood to be considering the best course of action for the young midfielder.

The Wallasey-born midfielder has made just a total of nine appearances for the Reds after making his debut back in September 2021.

Van Dijk opens up on Anfield future

Much of the focus at Anfield this summer has been on tying down their leading lights with all of Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold nearing the end of thier deals and with all three due to fall out of contract in July.

However, while the Reds have been in talks with the representatives of Alexander-Arnold, talks are yet to get underway with 33-year-old club captain Van Dijk.

The Dutchman was back to his best last season and is expected to play a major role again under Slot this season as the Reds look to stay among the title contenders.

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However, the club’s second costliest ever signing is currently eligible to leave as a free agent next summer and now the player has opened up over his situation.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk stated: “I’m very calm.

“I want to play the best season I can, again. I want to be important and stay important for the club this year. Whatever happens next year, we’ll see. Everything happens for a reason, that’s how I see it.”

Addressing possible talks over a new deal, Van Dijk continued: “There’s been no changes in my situation but I’m very calm about it, there’s no reason for me to sit down and start thinking about something else because I have the whole season to play. Hopefully, it’ll be a successful one.”