Liverpool may lose three of their finest gamers — Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold — for nothing in lower than 100 days. That’s the stark actuality of the contract chess sport being performed out proper now at Anfield, as a result of the sands of time actually are operating all the way down to the ultimate grains.
Salah (32 years outdated), Van Dijk (33) and Alexander-Arnold (25) are all out of contract on the finish of this season and, as a consequence, will every be capable of negotiate with a non-English membership from Jan. 1, 2025, over a free agent switch on the finish of this season. Every member of the trio has a distinct worth to the group, and the three are at completely different phases of their careers, however due to the best way Liverpool have rolled the cube, they’ve now grow to be inextricably related to one another to the extent that whoever’s future is settled first may have a direct impression on what occurs with the others.
Liverpool’s house owners, Fenway Sports activities Group (FSG), and their soccer operations group, led by soccer CEO Michael Edwards, know precisely what’s at stake within the weeks forward. The silence from inside the Liverpool boardroom about every particular person contract scenario shouldn’t be uncommon and is sensible from a enterprise perspective, however it has created uncertainty and concern amongst supporters — concern on the potential lack of as much as three star gamers but in addition on the membership’s failure to resolve the scenario months earlier. Past that, it has left a vacuum that has been crammed by statements from every participant solely including to the sense of a membership playing with excessive stakes.
Van Dijk was the primary to go public on his scenario in August, saying there had been “no change” within the lack of a contract supply from the membership. Salah then adopted the Netherlands defender in September when, after scoring in a 3-0 win at Manchester United, he additionally revealed that Liverpool had but to open talks over a brand new deal.
“No person on the membership has spoken to me but a few new contract, so I simply play this final season after which see on the finish of the season,” Salah mentioned. “It is lower than me, however no person has talked to me a few contract with the membership. We’ll see.”
With Van Dijk and Salah, Liverpool’s delay in negotiating new contracts is maybe comprehensible. With each gamers of their 30s and among the many membership’s highest earners, a calculation have to be made by the membership over their worth within the years forward.
How lengthy Van Dijk and Salah will be capable of carry out as world-class gamers — and whether or not the membership can confidently supply a one-, two- and even three-year contract with out the danger of being caught in direction of the top of that deal — is the dilemma FSG face. In recent times, with star gamers comparable to Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson, FSG erred on the aspect of warning and moved every of them out earlier than a decline set in. The data of Mané, Firmino and Henderson since leaving Liverpool have proved that the membership had been proper in every case to dump them.
Salah and Van Dijk are at a distinct degree to Mané, Firmino and Henderson, nevertheless, by way of their standing as membership legends and in that they are nonetheless performing on the highest degree. But as a result of they’ve allowed these gamers’ contracts to run into their ultimate yr, Liverpool have misplaced management, and the one solution to regain it now’s by providing contracts, by way of size and finance, that the membership would ordinarily not need to hand out. The scenario with Alexander-Arnold is completely different and is the one which has the best potential to grow to be an issue for each participant and membership. At 25 — he turns 26 on Oct. 7 — Alexander-Arnold is getting into his prime years, that means there could be no threat on Liverpool’s half by way of sanctioning a profitable long-term contract for a participant who was developed by the membership and who grew up as a Liverpool supporter. However the group are additionally in a catch-22 scenario with Alexander-Arnold. In the event that they do his deal first, Van Dijk and Salah would, not unreasonably, count on the same pay deal. If the membership settle Salah or Van Dijk first, it might give Alexander-Arnold’s advisers a place to begin for his or her deal. But long-standing hypothesis linking the England worldwide with Real Madrid refuses to go away, and Alexander-Arnold’s reluctance to dismiss the prospect of a transfer is a helpful negotiation tactic. Nevertheless, it is unlikely to play effectively with supporters who shortly misplaced affection for earlier homegrown stars — particularly Steve McManaman and Michael Owen — when it grew to become clear each had been ready to run down contracts to maneuver to Actual. McManaman moved to Actual as a free agent in 1999, and Owen sealed an £8 million transfer to the Santiago Bernabéu 5 years later when Liverpool opted to keep away from the danger of him leaving for nothing 12 months later. Arne Slot’s feedback this week about Alexander-Arnold being a “good defender” however one who must “do extra about his focus price” would possibly but show to be a touch that the brand new supervisor is ready to think about a future with no participant who has earned as a lot criticism for his defending as reward for his attacking qualities. If that’s the case, Liverpool have gone previous the purpose of no return with Alexander-Arnold by way of securing a major switch charge for him. When requested about his scenario following Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth, it appeared clear that Alexander-Arnold will now both signal a brand new deal or go away as a free agent. “I need to be a Liverpool participant this season is what I’ll say,” Alexander-Arnold mentioned when requested about his future. “I’ve been on the membership 20 years now; I’ve signed 4 or 5 contract extensions; none of these have been performed out in public, and this one will not be both. “An important factor is all the time trophies, if I’m sincere. I need to win trophies, I’m a participant who is extremely motivated by trophies and successful issues and being elite. So that’s most likely the principle issue [in deciding my future] of something.” The massive downside for Liverpool with Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold is that point is now not on their aspect and so they may genuinely see all three stroll by the exit door as free brokers subsequent summer season. The longer it drags on, the extra of a distraction it is going to grow to be for all concerned, however the gamers can solely win on this scenario. They both get huge new contracts at Liverpool or money in on free company standing subsequent yr. The upside of the subsequent few months for Liverpool is way more tough to envisage.
