Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has predicted a one-year contract extension for club captain Virgil van Dijk and believes Xabi Alonso could one day return to Anfield as manager

Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has forecast a one-year contract extension for club captain Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk is firmly into the final year of his deal at Anfield and indicated following Sunday's 3-1 triumph over Crystal Palace that he would be receptive to prolonging his near eight-year stint on Merseyside.

Lovren lined up alongside Van Dijk for approximately 18 months at Liverpool, claiming the Champions League, Club World Cup and Premier League together before his departure to Zenit St Petersburg in Russia in 2020.

The former Croatia international believes the Reds and Netherlands skipper continues to perform at a standard that should convince the Anfield hierarchy to retain his services for a further 12 months.

"It will be strange when Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool, but at some point it has to come to an end," Lovren told Hajper. "It'll be important for him, the fans and the club that he leaves at the right time, if he stays at his level then you can see a one-year extension, but of course he'll have to keep proving that on the pitch.

"But saying that it's so important that he gets a good farewell, he deserves it for what he has given to the club for so long, year after year. He has been at the very top.

"He is without doubt one of Liverpool's greatest ever players. You just need to look at the stats. Look at what he achieved and what he won, it speaks for itself.

"How many times was he up for the Ballon d'Or or in the FIFPro World 11? It's not just Liverpool, he's top of the tree."

Lovren, who joined the Reds from Southampton in 2014, also reckons current Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso might eventually take the helm at Liverpool.

Alonso built his standing as one of Europe's most promising young managers during his spell with Bayer Leverkusen, where he secured both the Bundesliga title and German Cup.

However, following his departure from Real Madrid in January, he was recruited by Chelsea merely two weeks before Arne Slot's dismissal at Anfield on 30 May.

Nevertheless, Lovren maintains he can still picture 2005 Champions League victor Alonso returning to his old club, stating: "At one point I also always wanted to see Xabi Alonso at Liverpool.

"It suits him. The style of football suited him when he was here, he played fantastically, everyone knows that.

"But also his mindset and his philosophy of football suit Liverpool. So I will never write him off. I also believe that in the not-too-distant future, he will one day be the manager of Liverpool."