Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are out of contract at the end of the season but neither player has announced a pre-contract agreement with any other club
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah remain ‘desperate’ to stay at Liverpool despite their precarious contract situations, it has been claimed. Both players’ current deals expire at the end of June, with Trent Alexander-Arnold – who is in the same position – set to join Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold’s move to the Bernabeu is all but confirmed, though there may be some final details to iron out. With the Premier League approving a one-off transfer window change ahead of the Club World Cup in June, there is still a chance Madrid pay Liverpool to release the England star from his contract a few weeks early.
Salah and Van Dijk are at slightly different stages of their career. While Alexander-Arnold is just 26, with his peak years potentially still to come, questions over longevity surround the two men who will be 33 and 34 respectively by the start of next season.
Their importance to the team right now can’t be questioned, though. And, according to Sky Sports, both Salah and Van Dijk would rather stay at Anfield than play elsewhere.
The same publication reports there has been no breakthrough with top scorer Salah and captain Van Dijk. Reports in Egypt, however, indicate talks between the club and Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas have begun to gain traction.
READ MORE: Arne Slot warned off signing Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement as two targets emergeREAD MORE: Gary Neville and Ian Wright explain why Trent Alexander-Arnold could struggle at Real Madrid
Alexander-Arnold might not be the only Liverpool player on the move this summer. Sky Sports also suggests the Reds would entertain a “good offer” for Harvey Elliott, while reports elsewhere suggest the likes of Darwin Nunez and Kostas Tsimikas could find themselves the subject of interest.
Elliott, who joined Liverpool from Fulham as a teenager, scored three times in just 168 Champions League minutes this season. He has received even less game time in the Premier League, though, prompting questions about where his future lies.
A number of potential replacements for Alexander-Arnold have been mentioned, with Liverpool likely to be busier this summer than they were in Arne Slot’s first window as manager. Jeremie Frimpong and Andrea Cambiaso are among those mentioned, though former Reds star Jamie Carragher has urged the club to promote from within.
“When Liverpool have had Conor Bradley in the team this season, he’s looked the real deal, and I don’t think the right-back market this summer is alive with lots of amazing right-backs,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “So I think the way for Liverpool to go if Trent moves on is for Conor Bradley to be given his head, but also for Liverpool to buy a utility player who can play across the back-four, like what Joe Gomez has been in the past few years.”
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