‘He’s my vice-captain’ – Virgil van Dijk sends Andy Robertson transfer message to Liverpool amid shock interest from Tottenham in Scotland international left-back

He has been with Liverpool since 2017, taking in 364 appearances for the club. He became a modern day legend under Jurgen Klopp and would depart with everyone’s best wishes if a sale were to be sanctioned.

Van Dijk is hoping that will not be the case, with Liverpool’s skipper telling reporters: “Of course I speak to him. I speak to him every day, he’s my vice-captain. Robbo is a very important member of our team and I want him to stay but whatever happens, let’s see.

“Do I expect him to be here on Wednesday [for the Qarabag game]? That’s not on me, is it? Let’s speak about [my best memories of him] when [a move] happens.”

Slot has admitted that Robertson still has a role to play in his plans if interest from north London can be snubbed. He said on the back of a 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth that saw Kerkez hauled off at half-time against his former club: “I think I need all my players. Robbo had to come in at half-time, in my opinion. I always knew that for Milos, another 90 minutes against a very intense Bournemouth side was not a possibility for him, so I knew I would have to bring (Robertson) in.

“I had already had one substitution in the first half, then you only have two moments left, so I thought ‘let’s bring Robbo in at half-time to make sure Milos stays available for the rest of the season’. There’s a lot of games to be played with the players available. I have to manage that as well. The last thing we could need right now is another injury.”

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