Liverpool have committed to shelling out up to £200million to keep their star players amid a flurry of expensive contract renewals, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim the Premier League big hitters are focused on keeping hold of the players who have taken the club to the top of the table and have already handed out at least eight new deals since last April.
The Times report the extensions will result in an additional financial commitment of between £150million and £200million after the club spent £250million on new signings last year.
OPINION
With Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rhian Brewster committing to contract extensions running until 2023 or 2024, the future looks bright for Liverpool. It reflects a well-run club who are rewarding key employees delivering the goods. It also demonstrates how the strategy has evolved until Fenway Sports Group in recent years. Liverpool have been successful at selling stars at a huge profit under the American owners – notably Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres – but they are not shopping in the designer stores rather than the high street. The recruitment of Virgil van Dijk for £75million set the ball rolling for a series of momentous 2018 deals and, now, manager Jurgen Klopp and recruitment chief Michael Edwards, are keen the squad does not fall apart. You do not need the combined detectives skills of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to deduce this is a club going places.