Virgil van Dijk has urged Liverpool not to let Joe Gomez leave on deadline day.
Defender Gomez has been linked with a move away from Anfield, especially if a Reds raid on Crystal Palace for Marc Guehi comes to fruition.
There have even been suggestions the 28-year-old could be used as a potential makeweight in a deal for England centre-half Guehi.
But Gomez showed his quality in a substitute appearance during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, and Reds captain Van Dijk is adamant his fellow defender should stay.
“It’s a very good question, because when he came on in the circumstances he is in personally, he was outstanding,” said Van Dijk.
“Obviously I speak to him quite a lot, so I know it wasn’t easy, but that says a lot about him as a person, as a player, only appreciation.
“He’s a good friend of mine, I’m just pleased for him that he could do it today. Let’s see, hopefully he can do a lot more for us this season.
“He’s my friend, of course I want him to stay. But it doesn’t work like that. I’m not the boss. It’s not a friendly business. It’s the highest world that we live in.
“Let’s see what happens. Of course I want him to stay, as a friend and as a player.”
Van Dijk was involved in his own deadline-day drama in 2015 when he joined Southampton from Celtic.
But this year he will be an interested onlooker to see if Liverpool make 11th-hour bids for Guehi and long-time target Alexander Isak of Newcastle.
“I’ve been in an interesting one a few years ago,” he added. “But other than that, tomorrow morning (Monday) I leave early to go to Holland.
“When I’m done after 6ish I’ll probably know if anything is happening here. If not we crack on.”
