Only 32 days remain until Liverpool’s trio of players on expiring contracts can negotiate pre-contract agreements with overseas outfits.
News to the ears of Europe’s elite outfits who could soon be set to land some of the best talents on the globe for nothing.
Far from good news for the Merseyside giants, of course, who have thus far relied on Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to compete for top honours for the better part of a decade.
As such, we can understand why Paul Merson has had such an adverse reaction to the developing situation.
Liverpool leaving much to be desired over contract saga
The Sky Sports pundit lambasted Liverpool’s ‘pathetic’ decision-makers for so far failing to extend the terms of their key stars.
“What is happening at Liverpool is a joke, in footballing terms it’s criminal,” the former Arsenal star wrote in his column for Sportskeeda.
“The people in charge who are letting three of their best players run down their contracts like this should take a look at themselves because it is pathetic!
“This situation should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago or something.”
The Merseysiders are set to take on fellow title challengers Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
What is the current state of play with contract talks?
Liverpool insiders insist that talks with Salah’s agent, for instance, are moving positively even if a formal contract offer has yet to be issued.
This would suggest both parties have yet to reach any middle ground over the terms of a potential deal, which is to be expected given the calibre of the player under discussion and his performances in 2024/25.
For Virgil van Dijk, it seems clear as ever that the Dutch international wants to extend his stay at Anfield. Negotiations here are likewise thought to be progressing in a positive manner if reports are to be believed.
The big mystery is where Trent Alexander-Arnold stands amid all of this. We did a good job of proving the ever-enlarging potential of this Arne Slot side with a 2-0 win over the fullback’s reported suitors Real Madrid in the mid-week.
Whether such performances are enough to convince our No.66 that his future is in Merseyside, however, remains to be seen.
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Mo, and vvd, plus allison will stay at anfield,if Trent goes he goes he’ll be greatly missed by everyone but life goes on, ynwa.
TAA would not be missed at all. Bradley is the total package.
They were obviously waiting to see how slot did. Calm down Merson you fool
they’ve known for a while how Slot is doing but nothing at all from the Club. Is Richard Hughes on holiday perhaps, are FSG too busy paying $700M for Boston Red Sox players so can’t afford anything else. The club should at least make a statement, Slot has saved them from one of their decisions potentially backfiring ie Turning Gravenberch into a Defensive Midfield player when we desperately needed one but none was bought.
Paul “Totally Clueless” Merson.
He is like a blind buck. No idea!!!
So you believe that the Club know what they’re doing with regard to players contracts? As far as I’m aware, the club has never made a statement regarding the contracts. Perhaps they believe we can bring in three 19 year olds for £7M each who can replace Slah, Van Dijk and TAA immediately.
I’ve no time for Merson but do believe he’s correct on the contract issue.