Liverpool have decided that the replacement for their 35-year-old captain is a plan for 2027, not a January rescue.

Van Dijk’s contract expires at the end of this season, and the club is already lining up a short-term extension for the Dutchman, reportedly a 12-month deal with the option of a further year, while actively shortlisting his heir.

The names at the top of that shortlist have surfaced in the past 48 hours: Borussia Dortmund captain Nico Schlotterbeck and Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian centre-back Murillo.

Dortmund clause tips the balance

Schlotterbeck, 26, signed a new contract in April that ties him to Dortmund until 2031. Buried inside that deal is a release clause of between €50m and €60m, roughly £42m to £50m, activating in the summer of 2027 for selected clubs.

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Without the clause, Dortmund are said to want valuations above €70m. That gap is the whole story: it turns a notional £70m fight into a priced-up walk-away option, and the clause is the lever Liverpool are expected to pull if they do move for the German.

Forest raise the drawbridge

Murillo is a different proposition. The 24-year-old is under contract at the City Ground until June 2030, and Forest are refusing to be dragged to the table in the middle of a season.

According to TeamTalk, the club have placed a £70-80m valuation on him and would require “an enormous offer” to reconsider before next summer.

Chelsea are also tracking the Brazilian, which, if Forest ever soften, would turn the file into a Premier League auction rather than a quiet negotiation.

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Bastoni and Koundé on the second tier

The reporting lists two further names if the primary route stalls: Alessandro Bastoni at Inter and Jules Koundé at Barcelona. Both are elite, both are expensive, and neither is thought to be as realistic as the Schlotterbeck clause.

Liverpool also hold an option to sign Ronald Araújo on a permanent deal from Barcelona for £47m next summer, with the Uruguayan currently on loan at Anfield.

No bid has been lodged, no club contacted, and the January window is expected to pass without movement.

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