The contract status of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Virgil Van Dijk does not alarm Arne Slot, even though he has acknowledged the club has started negotiations.
Due to expiring contracts, Liverpool will lose all three players at the end of the current campaign. The team is running out of time to have them committed before they can discuss pre-contract agreements with international clubs, as January draws near.
Although he did not specify how far along he is in the negotiations, Van Dijk did reveal last month that talks are in progress on a new contract.
With his position as head coach enabling him to have less influence over contract issues than his predecessor, Slot has kept quiet about the circumstances surrounding all three players. The Liverpool manager did, however, disclose Van Dijk’s talks ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against Brighton, while downplaying any worries over his, Alexander-Arnold’s, and Salah’s futures.
In his news conference on Friday, Slot stated, “I think the contract situation could become a problem if the players don’t perform as well as they do right now, but it’s also not sure that IF they don’t perform as well anymore that it has anything to do with their contract situation.”
According to Virgil, “there are ongoing discussions between the people he had to talk with and all three of them are in a good place right now. They all perform well.” And, you know, that’s not me!
“I discuss other topics with him. Let’s wait and find out. As long as he doesn’t sign the deal, I believe he is quite correct in saying that he has no idea what the future holds.
All three players are still the subject of speculation, with Salah appearing to be of interest to Saudi Arabia and Alexander-Arnold being strongly linked to a move to Real Madrid. Though it’s still unclear if the Liverpool captain will stay at Anfield for much longer, Van Dijk has been the most forthcoming of the three about his future thus far.
“I feel very good, physically, mentally and I am having fun,” he states. “As I mentioned in my earlier response, conversations are taking place with the appropriate individuals, but I have no idea what the future holds.
“I believe that you [the media] will also be aware of it when the time comes to make a decision or anything else. However, Liverpool and winning this season now have all of the attention and dedication. Thus, we shall see.
