Dejan Lovren makes Virgil van Dijk Liverpool contract prediction and Xabi Alonso return claim

Lovren predicts Van Dijk will sign a one-year extension if he maintains his level, and believes Xabi Alonso could manage Liverpool in the future.

Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has offered his thoughts on two potential futures at Anfield. Speaking to Hajper, Lovren predicted that captain Virgil van Dijk will agree a one-year contract extension with the club, provided the Dutch defender continues performing at his current elite level.

Van Dijk is in the final year of his contract and indicated after Liverpool's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace that he would be open to staying longer on Merseyside.

Lovren, who played alongside Van Dijk for 18 months before leaving for Zenit St Petersburg in 2020, praised the centre-back as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players. "It'll be important for him, the fans and the club that he leaves at the right time," Lovren said. "If he stays at his level then you can see a one-year extension, but of course he'll have to keep proving that on the pitch."

Lovren also suggested that Xabi Alonso, now Chelsea manager, could one day return to Liverpool as head coach. Alonso won the Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayer Leverkusen before joining Chelsea in January. "I will never write him off," Lovren said. "I also believe that in the not-too-distant future, he will one day be the manager of Liverpool."