Virgil van Dijk: I liked working under Slot, I'm sure I will like working under Iraola

Van Dijk accepts Liverpool are in transition after the sacking of Slot but he revealed he has been in regular contact with Iraola and offered his full support to the new head coach

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk at the final whistle after the pre-season friendly match at Anfield. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Virgil van Dijk is ready to welcome Ronald Araújo as his new centre-back partner at Liverpool with the deal to sign the Barcelona defender almost complete.

Van Dijk played almost an hour, his first pre-season appearance, as Liverpool were beaten 3-2 by Monaco at Anfield, having led 2-0. The Dutchman fouled Aleksandr Golovin to concede a penalty just before the break, which Golovin scored.

Jérémy Jacquet remained absent, with Liverpool’s new £50m arrival being treated with kid gloves after an injury-hit spell at the end of last season with Rennes. Araújo has been signed to bolster Andoni Iraola’s defensive options, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni also sidelined.

“Any player that arrives at the club we will be welcoming,” Van Dijk said of Araújo. “I have no idea if it has been announced or not. I have not seen him so let’s see.” Van Dijk was upbeat about Jacquet and the prospect of more transfer activity between now and the transfer deadline on 1 September. Liverpool are keen on adding to their forward line with Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola of interest.

“Let’s see what the next couple of weeks are going to bring. Any quality we can add to the team will definitely be welcome so let’s see.

“I’ve not seen any of him. I’ve spoken to him,” Van Dijk said of Jacquet. “I’ve seen him walking around and we have conversations. I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch and I hope that happens very soon. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know exactly the situation, but I have a feeling this week he could be back on the pitch, hopefully as soon as possible.”

While Van Dijk accepted Liverpool are in a transition period after the sacking of Arne Slot, he revealed he has been in regular contact with Iraola and offered his full support to the new head coach.

Van Dijk said: “We had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced and the main thing for him to know is I am here for him regardless, anything he needs, wants to know, wants me to do for the team or whatever. Hopefully we will be successful this season.

“Nothing to take away from Arne and his staff, we had an amazing time together, but obviously last year [was] a disappointment. This year we have a new manager who has new ways of preparation, so we have to adapt to the new staff, different training methods.

"I liked working under Arne and I am sure I will like working under the new manager.”

Guardian