Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has expressed his desire for Andy Robertson to remain at the club amid ongoing discussions about a potential move to Tottenham before the January window closes. Robertson had been in talks with Liverpool over a new contract when Spurs unexpectedly showed interest earlier this week, leading to ongoing negotiations between the two clubs. Liverpool acknowledges the significant contributions of their vice-captain over the past eight-and-a-half years and it is understood that the Scotland captain is keen to secure regular first-team football ahead of his country's first World Cup appearance since 1998 later this year.
Club captain Van Dijk revealed he has discussed the situation with his deputy and hopes the long-serving left-back will stay on Merseyside for the rest of the season at least. "Of course I speak to him," said Van Dijk. "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.
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"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."
Van Dijk's comments came after Liverpool's 13-match unbeaten run was halted by a 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth, with Amine Adli scoring the decisive goal after the Reds had equalised Evanilson and Alex Jimenez's goals through a header from the skipper and a strike from Dominik Szoboszlai.
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The defeat could be a significant blow to their hopes of securing a spot in next season's Champions League, and Van Dijk concedes that fatigue was a factor following a 3-0 Champions League victory over Marseille earlier in the week. The central defender commented: "What can explain tiredness? What do you think?
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"Last season we did not have many injuries. Look at the last line in the last minutes of the game, that says quite a lot. Tiredness, yeah. Listen, they created chances because we were very open at times. If you then don't make the right decision in possession, you can get counter-attacked.
"I don't start to worry personally [about the top-four race] But the matter of fact is about what we do in the week. We are trying to find consistency and we still don't have it, that is something we need to focus on.
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"We played Bournemouth who are very intense. When we only have myself and Wata (Wataru Endo) as the last two, if we lose the ball then there is a lot of space. We are having a difficult season in terms of ups and downs but now we have an opportunity on Wednesday to qualify for the top eight of the Champions League. That is our target but today is tough to take.
"It was tough. I'm disappointed. The first goal, I take full responsibility for that even though it was a very difficult ball to judge. In the second half, we tried to do that. The second goal, we can all speak and say we should have kicked the ball out, we should have done this.
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"But to concede like that puts ourselves in We find ourselves in a position where we must work harder than ever. It was good that we scored before half-time but we fought so hard in the second half but did not create very big chances. We came in promising positions and eventually scored an equaliser but the throw-in in the end, it is difficult to take.
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"First half, up until the first goal, I don't think there was anything wrong in my feeling. The 1-0 and 2-0 in a very short space of time was a big blow, you have to fight back and be very strong mentally. The goal before half time helped, it gave us a big push. Second half we were obviously pushing a lot.
"We could not create open, big clear-cut chances, they created bigger chances because we were wide open at times trying to score our goal, that is the situation. The thing is, that is part and parcel. In the good times, these things happen as well, the other side of it.
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"I am just as involved as everyone else. Today as well, unfortunately. I will always take that responsibility. Today is difficult because you lose, in a difficult season already. We have to turn that feeling around as quickly as possible to get the job done on Wednesday. That is the life.
"Last Wednesday we had a lot of praise, team and personal, and everything was all good. Today, the flip side, all the other things will be mentioned because it's the life we live. We have to take responsibility and I will definitely take responsibility."