Liverpool legend Gary McAllister cannot visualise the Reds without captain Virgil van Dijk, with the defender having entered the final year of his contract at Anfield.
Van Dijk has played a talismanic role since joining Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018, making 197 Premier League appearances for the club.
Since his debut, only Mohamed Salah (229), Trent Alexander-Arnold (211), Andy Robertson (209) and Alisson (201) have played more league matches for the Reds.
The Dutchman has won the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies with the Reds, taking the captain's armband when Jordan Henderson departed last year.
However, he has entered the final 12 months of the four-year contract he signed in 2021, and when Jurgen Klopp announced his departure earlier this year, the centre-back admitted he "didn't know" whether he would continue with the club.
McAllister, however, expects him to stay put, telling Stats Perform: "He's such a pivotal player and he's a fantastic leader, he's the captain of the club.
"I can't visualise Liverpool without Virgil van Dijk. So my feeling and the feeling of most of the people in and around the club is that we need him to stay."
Van Dijk is not the only Liverpool stalwart with an uncertain future, with Salah also out of contract at the end of the season and attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League.
Salah scored 18 Premier League goals in 2023-24, making it the least prolific season of his seven-year stay on Merseyside, but McAllister says he has nothing to prove.
"Mo has been simply sensational right from the day he arrived," McAllister said.
"His goal stats, his assist stats, every stat that you can throw in, all the records that he's broken… he's just got to do what he's done every year that he's been here.
"I'm sure the new manager will be leaning on him.
"He's now a senior player, Mo, he's a player who's got vast experience, he's a world icon, he's an iconic footballer, he's going to be such a massive player for the club this season."
Salah will hope to get more support from fellow attacker Cody Gakpo in 2024-25, with the Dutchman earning a share of the Golden Boot at Euro 2024 with three goals, after only netting eight times in a frustrating 2023-24 campaign.
McAllister hopes Liverpool's appointment of Gakpo's compatriot Arne Slot will help him kick on, saying: "That'll help, the fact the manager and Gakpo are both Dutchmen.
"It was his first full season at the club, I thought he had some good games, bad games, so his form was a little bit up and down.
"But I agree, during the Euros, Gakpo was one of the Netherlands' best players and he got his goals as well. He'll gain from that experience, the fact that he did well.
"The fans will feel like they've got a new signing, I think you'll see a young man coming in with more confidence and feeling that he's now a proper Liverpool player."
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Slot's Liverpool success will be measured by trophies, says McAllister
Gary McAllister says Arne Slot must be prepared to aim high by targeting trophies if he is to be successful with Liverpool.
The Dutchman is set to begin his first season in charge of the Reds after being appointed as Jurgen Klopp's successor in May.
Liverpool enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the German, winning their first-ever Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
However, Slot was no stranger to success while at Feyenoord, leading the team to the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 before lifting the KNVB Cup in April during his final season with the club.
McAllister, who won five trophies in the two years he spent at Liverpool, says Slot's success will be determined by the silverware he collects.
"Liverpool is a club that's synonymous with winning, and when you don't win you fail," McAllister told Stats Perform.
"When there's a new management team, you're given a little bit more time, but the facts are Liverpool's target, I felt, and as a player that played against them for most of his career, the targets that Liverpool set, you go into every tournament looking to win it.
"You try to win every game and that's the expectation of the club and that's what makes it a very special club."
Klopp spent nine years at Liverpool, breaking club records as his team pushed for trophies on a regular basis.
The Reds enjoyed a club-record 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield over nearly four years in the Premier League between April 2017 and January 2021.
Klopp also oversaw three of the four most prolific seasons in Liverpool's history, including the club-record total of 147 goals scored in 2021-22.
Slot has admitted he has "big shoes to fill", but McAllister believes the 45-year-old will be able to live up to the high expectations left behind by Klopp.
"Arne arriving at the club, following Klopp, realising that it's such a difficult job anyway, but to follow somebody who's done particularly well at the club over an eight, nine-year period is going to be tough, and I don't think the new manager is under any illusions," he added.
"What I would say is he's a man that seems to be a very strong character, good personality, and he's just got to come in and be his own man and trust what he does.
"He's done very well in his previous managerial career and coming to Liverpool I feel is a natural progression in the levels of the game that he's worked at.
"So, everybody at the club will be deeply backing him and be right behind him, he'll have amazing support."
Liverpool's first pre-season game under Slot ended in a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End last week before the players flew out to the United States for a three-game tour.
They are also only one of two Premier League clubs yet to conduct any business in the transfer window so far, but McAllister urged fans to be patient with Slot while he gets settled in his new role.
"Whenever there's a change at a club, I think the fans have got to realise that it does take time for a new manager, a new coaching group to come in and get their ideas over to the players," he said.
"There's got to be a modicum of patience, but at Liverpool, expectation levels are very, very high and sometimes, in professional soccer, in elite soccer, patience is something that most managers don't get.
"As much as the fans have got to be aware that everything is new and there are new ideas, Arne and the players will want to get off to a quick start.
"I feel that this pre-season tour is going to help them start the season against Ipswich Town very strongly. I feel the games that they've got here in the US, here in Pittsburgh against Betis, and then we go to play Arsenal and Manchester United, the build-up is pretty good."
Nurnberg 3-0 Juventus: Motta's men thrashed in first pre-season friendly
Thiago Motta's first game in charge of Juventus ended in defeat as an unfamiliar Bianconeri side was thrashed 3-0 by 2. Bundesliga outfit Nurnberg on Friday.
The likes of Timothy Weah, Nicolo Fagioli and Dusan Vlahovic were limited to substitute roles as Motta selected a young side at Max-Morlock-Stadion, with the latter hitting the post with a second-half penalty at 1-0.
Caspar Jander had earlier given Nurnberg a 19th-minute lead, and they put some gloss on the scoreline with two late strikes after Vlahovic's missed spot-kick.
Substitutes Dustin Forkel and Tim Janisch both converted from inside the penalty area in the final four minutes as Motta's reign began in disappointing fashion.
The Bianconeri are next in action versus Brest on Saturday, with a further friendly against Atletico Madrid in the diary before they begin their Serie A campaign at Como on August 19.
Data Debrief: Juve's second string miss their chance
It's fair to say few of the youngsters selected by Motta made a big impression, with the Bianconeri only managing two shots to Nurnberg's seven before they rang the changes at half-time.
No Juventus starter created a chance in Bavaria, and things did not get much better when Motta made his changes, with Vlahovic in particular enduring a disappointing outing.
He only had 18 touches, one of them coming when he struck the woodwork from 12 yards.
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