However Liverpool decide to settle their contract saga, it seems more than likely that the very fabric of their wage bill will be significantly altered.
All three of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are set to become out of contract by the summer of 2025. A seriously unenviable challenge sporting director Richard Hughes must navigate in his first season at the club.
More to the point, these are three key stars who have proven to be the backbone of Jurgen Klopp’s title and cup-winning teams.
Losing any number of these players may free up room on the wage bill, but there’s no re’s no accounting for the potential damage their exits will inflict on Liverpool’s ability to compete moving forward.
Peter Moore offered a message of hope when addressing the matter of Liverpool’s expiring contracts.
“Ownership, I know ownership (FSG) is working feverishly to get deals done with all three and whether it is all three, two of the three, one of three or none of the three, I don’t know,” Liverpool’s former CEO spoke at Soccerex [via the Liverpool Echo].
“You look at those players and what I do like is they all seem dedicated right now and there is nobody, particularly those three, that has taken a game off for some reason. And they are, even in Trent’s case, they are the senior citizens and you look at what they offer.
“So come January, particularly in Trent’s case, we’ll see what happens but I know that ownership is talking with their respective agents, I am sure feverishly. But it won’t be cheap.”
Given Real Madrid are understood to remain ‘obsessed’ with the idea of adding our No.66 to their starting lineup, we’d certainly expect Trent’s future to become significantly clearer after January 1. That’s assuming, of course, that the generational fullback hasn’t put pen to paper on a new contract by that point.
As increasingly unlikely as that eventuality may seem the closer we steer towards the new year, it remains a possibility at the very least.
Moore’s comments confirm what Liverpool fans are already more than aware of: The club has yet to give up hope of extending each of the trio’s contracts.
That much was made clear by The Times’ Paul Joyce last week, with the side continuing to engage in talks over their respective futures at L4.
If we still haven’t heard a significant update by January, however, we strongly suspect Trent Alexander-Arnold at least will have committed his future elsewhere.
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The post ‘I know’: Ex-Liverpool chief drops intriguing Trent Alexander-Arnold contract claim appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
