Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said in an interview that Iraola's style of play could prolong Van Dijk's career, but a successor still needs to be identified in advance.

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes Andoni Iraola's style of football could help extend Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk's career at Anfield. Van Dijk turns 34 in July and is in the final year of his contract extension signed in April 2024, but Warnock says the captain remains crucial to the team.

And the ex-left-back feels the data on Van Dijk might embolden the club's decision makers to extend the legendary centre-half's stay after 10 years at Liverpool.

"I think you've always got to have a [succession] plan in place," Warnock told

"I'm sure Liverpool will have looked at that and how long can they get out of him. The interesting part about this is we don't know all the data behind the scenes.

"What we often see or hear now is that players are playing and competing at a level that is three-four years below their age bracket, because of the way that nutrition has moved on, sport science.

"And they might be looking at that, thinking, we've got another one or two years out of him here, at the highest level.

"There will come a stage where he might not play as much football and that's a difficult one for him to come to terms with as well, and that's something that they'll have to manage extremely well.

"However, judging by the way Iraola plays his football, if you can press high up the pitch and in midfield and take that pressure off the backline, giving him less to do in games, the longer he plays and the easier the game comes to him."

Warnock, who made 67 appearances for the Reds between 2004 and 2007, added: "He was probably pressed a lot more last season than he was before.

"[There was] not a lot of continuity alongside him in terms of centre-back, goalkeeper, left-back with Andrew Robertson and Kerkez - Kerkez struggled at first.

"The balance in midfield wasn't quite right. And you just feel he was trying to juggle so many different situations in front of him and that takes away from his game.

"I think at centre-half, they're probably covered now with Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, and you've got Leoni to come back in a couple of months time. It seems like he's getting integrated back.

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