Virgil van Dijk tells Liverpool team-mate to snub deadline-day transfer

AC Milan are working on a deal for Liverpool’s Joe Gomez (Picture: Getty)

Virgil van Dijk has encouraged Joe Gomez to snub deadline-day interest from AC Milan and stay put at Liverpool .

Gomez, 28, has made 243 appearances in all competitions across his decade-long stay with Liverpool and is the club’s longest serving player.

But the defender’s future has been the subject of intense speculation throughout the summer, with the Premier League champions working to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace .

Recent reports suggested Gomez could be used as a makeweight in an agreement with Palace, but it’s understood this is no longer a possibility, with Liverpool favouring a cash-only deal for Guehi.

However, Gomez is now being heavily linked with Serie A giants AC Milan, with just hours remaining of the transfer window, and the England international is said to be open the prospect of a switch to the San Siro .

An injury to Ibrahima Konate saw Gomez come on for the final ten minutes of Liverpool’s win over Arsenal on Sunday – and the ex-Charlton man made a vital intervention by stopping Eberechi Eze in his tracks in the closing stages.

Speaking shortly after the final whistle at Anfield, Liverpool captain Van Dijk made it clear he did not want to see his team-mate complete a move to Italy.

Van Dijk hopes Gomez stays on at Anfield (Picture: Getty)

Gomez made a vital intervention in the closing stages of Liverpool’s win (Picture: Getty)

‘When he came on in the circumstances he is in personally, he was outstanding,’ Van DIjk said.

‘Obviously I speak to him quite a lot, so I know it wasn’t easy, but that says a lot about him as a person, as a player, only appreciation.

‘He’s a good friend of mine, I’m just pleased for him that he could do it today. Let’s see, hopefully he can do a lot more for us this season.’

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While Van Dijk would understand if Gomez sought a fresh challenge away from Liverpool, he hopes to see the centre-back commit his future to the Reds.

‘He’s my friend, of course I want him to stay. But it doesn’t work like that,’ the Dutchman added.

‘I’m not the boss. It’s not a friendly business. It’s the highest world that we live in.

‘Let’s see what happens. Of course I want him to stay, as a friend and as a player.’

Van Dijk said he and the rest of Arne Slot’s squad would ‘crack on’ once the dust has settled on deadline day, whether or not the club are successful in capturing Guehi and Alexander Isak.

‘I’ve been in an interesting one a few years ago,’ Van Dijk explained.

‘But other than that, tomorrow morning [Monday] I leave early to go to Holland.

‘When I’m done after 6ish I’ll probably know if anything is happening here. If not we crack on.’