Advantage Liverpool: Midfielder transfer target wants to play with Van Dijk

Liverpool appear to have stolen a march on Arsenal in the race to sign AZ Alkmaar prodigy Kees Smit after the 20-year-old revealed his enthusiasm for training alongside Reds captain Virgin van Dijk.

With Arne Slot preparing for a summer overhaul of an under-performing midfield, Smit has emerged as a leading candidate to inject fresh impetus to a department that has yielded diminishing returns from Ryan Gravenebrch and Alexis Mac Allister in recent months. The need for reinforcements is heightened by the contract uncertainty hanging over two senior midfielders: Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo are both out of contract in 202 and, absent swift extensions, could be sold to avoid losing them on free transfers.

Smit, celebrating a maiden Netherlands call-up after another eye-catching Eredivisie campaign, told ESPN NL that the prospect of working with Liverpool and the Dutch national-team skipper is a “relishing” one. That admission hands the Premier League champions a decisive edge over Arsenal, who have also tracked the midfielder ahead of a potential move to England.

Anfield’s recruitment team have yet to formalise their approach, yet Smit’s public admiration for Van Dijk underlines the pull of Merseyside as he contemplates the next step in his development. Should Liverpool accelerate negotiations, the Alkmaar academy graduate could become Slot’s first major midfield addition of the post-season shake-up.