Contract extensions have now replaced transfer obsession with three key players to see their deals with the club expire in 2025, so what should Liverpool’s priorities be?
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah will all become free agents next summer if Liverpool do not secure new deals for the trio.
They are three of the first names on the team sheet and integral pillars of the Reds’ recent success and, hopefully, what is still to come under Arne Slot.
But, as it stands, they are free to leave in 2025, and it is safe to say all eyes are on the club and how they handle any renewals.
Here, This Is Anfield’s Joanna Durkan (@JoannaDurkan_), Jack Lusby (@LusbyJack) and Sam Millne (@sam_millne) discuss which contract is the priority, what terms we’d offer and realistic expectations.
First, a word on the club allowing the situation to reach this point?
SAM: I have sympathy with the club regarding Salah and to some extent, Van Dijk.
It was only a few months ago that he was underperforming and many supporters were suggesting it was time to cash in.
For Alexander-Arnold, though, it seems nonsensical to allow him to reach his final year. While the player may rightly have been wise to see how things developed over this summer, the time for Liverpool to act was in 2023, not 2024.
JOANNA: It is a situation that has just been passed from one figurehead to the next thanks to the sporting director changing every summer. Everyone was happy to pass the issue along.
In saying that, Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards knew what they were inheriting and that the players continue to say they have not heard anything is alarming.
To an extent they have dropped the ball and the lack of transfer activity has only made the spotlight on Hughes shine brighter, so what he does next will be telling.
JACK: I have to admit my opinion has changed from when I first heard Salah’s comments on the situation.
At first it seemed like blind negligence from the current regime, but considering the short amount of time they have been working together and the many variables in play – including Arne Slot needing time to assess his squad – it’s no real surprise they are yet to address contracts.
It’s more an indictment of how the club allowed things to drift around Jurgen Klopp, delegating more and more to the manager and with Jorg Schmadtke brought in solely to execute transfers.
Finally there appears to be stability and sense behind the scenes and hopefully, that will now see errors like this addressed.
What do you want to see happen with the three players out of contract in 2025? How would you prioritise their deals?
JOANNA: Ideally, we don’t lose any of them next summer – definitely not on a free transfer, that’s just throwing money away when they all still have incredible value.
The club’s stance is clear on contract offers for those over 30, but if any two players were to be an exception to the rule, it would be Salah and Van Dijk.
I still think they have years left in them at the top and you can then phase them out, if you will, instead of going cold turkey. Trent, on the other hand, is an entirely different subject.
Liverpool have dropped the ball on his contract and I’d be signing him up for as long as I could. My list of priorities would be (it hurts to have Virgil so low):
1. Trent
2. Salah
3. Van Dijk
JACK: I’d want to keep them all, though that may not have been my stance earlier this year.
In the final ebbs of Klopp’s reign, it looked like Salah and Van Dijk were fading forces and it seemed like a parting of ways may have been the right move.
Now, though, both are back to their best and appear reinvigorated under Slot.
Maybe this is how the club viewed the situation, too? Who knows, but there’s no way to explain allowing Alexander-Arnold to coast into the final year of his deal alongside them.
I agree with Jo:
1. Trent – mainly because there seems more risk of his head turning.
2. Salah.
3. Van Dijk.
SAM: For the obvious reason being age, Trent is the most important to tie down but if you were to rank the other two, it is difficult.
If Federico Chiesa stays fit and looks like a player who can fill Salah’s boots, even in a more human way, then perhaps Van Dijk’s contract would take on more significance.
If Liverpool had signed a centre-half this summer then it would have been the other way round. Either way, the club have left themselves with a lot to do next summer.
If contract talks were in your hands, what terms would you offer each of them?
JACK: A lifetime contract for Trent. Two years for Van Dijk and three for Salah.
JOANNA: Trent, obviously, has to be on the longest deal, and it would be a case of giving him the longest one he’s willing to sign, say six years.
I would be comfortable with two years each for Van Dijk and Salah, perhaps with an option for an extra season should they hit performance and appearance markers.
They do not need convincing to stay, they need to feel valued enough not to leave.
SAM: Give Trent the keys to Anfield, in my opinion. He is simply too good to let leave without a fuss.
For Van Dijk and Salah, a two-year deal seems most appropriate but with the caveat that they can’t expect to play every minute of every game.
Realistically, what are you expecting to happen?
JOANNA: I don’t know if it is just me being overly optimistic, but I think all three of them extend (eventually).
I just don’t want this to be the backdrop for the season, there should be an eagerness to wrap it all up quickly one way or another with the transfer window now over.
I really don’t want to reach January and have to endure countless rumours about each of them.
JACK: I’d agree. As long as they’re all offered new deals I don’t see any of the three choosing to leave.
It’s worth pointing out that it does little to help the club in leaking details of talks at this stage and things are likely different to how they have been depicted in the media.
I’ll take a punt and say at least one of these is resolved by the October break. Let’s hope all three are done before the end of the year!
SAM: Personally, I think they will all stay but that could be the optimist in me.
Of the three, I am most worried about Trent’s situation. Let’s hope he doesn’t spend too much time with Jude Bellingham over the next year!
