SPOILSPORT

LIVERPOOL captain Virgil van Dijk won’t allow onbeskofte boo-boys to spoil their Premier League title celebrations and farewell of close team-mate Trent Alexander Arnold.

Alexander-Arnold is leaving Merseyside on an expected free transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid at the end of the season. But Liverpool fans are upset about the right-back’s decision to march vannie jaart.

They showed their dissatisfaction this past Sunday, booing the England defender during the Reds’ home game against Arsenal that ended in a 2-2 draw.

Club captain Van Dijk feels it was disrespectful and that Alexander-Arnold last days at Anfield needs to be celebrated although he and member of the team were gutted when they heard about latter’s decision to leave.

He says: “Everyone shares different opinions and he feels like he has done it all, and he did it, and he wants to try something different.

“We are gutted that he’s not here with us next year because he’s a fantastic player with outstanding, exceptional qualities that we have seen over the last seven years.

“The [crowd] reaction happened. He has to deal with it. We as a team have to deal with that as well.

“I wasn’t really expecting something, to be honest, but I think maybe he expected this. It's not easy, not at all. We're here for him anyway.”

Pool will lift the Premier League title next Sunday when they tackle Crystal Palace in their final game at Anfield. And of how they won’t allow celebrations to be spoiled, Van Dijk wyses: “I don’t think so. It shouldn’t. There's a lot more players that also deserve an amazing day.”

Meanwhile, reports out of the UK suggest Reds manager Arne Slot has already lined up a replacement for Alexander-Arnold with Bayer Leverkusen ace Jeremie Frimpong the big target as their new right-back.

Frimpong has a release clause worth £33 million (R803m) in his contract.