Everyone in the wider world of football wondered how the 2024/25 Premier League campaign would go for former Champions Liverpool given it was long known that well liked, and successful, manager Jurgen Klopp planned to retire at the end of last season.
Not only did the manager question have to be solved, but there was also the small matter of the future of key players like Mohamed Salah, Alexander Trent-Arnold and captain Virgil van Dijk to be settled given their own individual contract situations.
Dutchman Arne Slot was quickly appointed without much fanfare with deference to Klopp, and the expected exodus last summer failed to come to pass. Liverpool fans had probably simply accepted that this would not be the case next summer as contracts naturally expired, and talk of negotiations had gone very quiet indeed.
However, fresh on the back of new TAA to Real Madrid rumours, Liverpool fans have been greeted this week with speculation that Salah has demanded a ‘massive’ new three year deal at Anfield to secure his future. Given he has again started the season in good form with the 32 year old scoring seven times and providing six assists in eleven games, they will likely jump at this opportunity if it proves to be true. But they would probably expect Salah to compromise on his wage demands, for them to acquiesce to his length of contract demands. With that said 32 years old, taking him to 35 is not the kind of risk it used to be considered even five or ten years ago with modern sports science.
The main issue here is if negotiations are not already quietly going on, because come the New Year Salah can sign a pre contract elsewhere ahead of leaving as a free agent over the summer. There will be a back and forth and it does pressure Liverpool somewhat when it comes to pushing hard for the best deal from their point of view.
If that possibility didn’t excite fans, Van Dijk has also gone public this week to confirm that he is in talks over a new deal, and this one isn’t speculation. The 33 year old did not give too much away but having been at the club since 2018 he confirmed he was interested in staying and that ‘discussions are ongoing’ as to whether or not he can make that happen.
VVD did typically comment that negotiations were in the hands of his representatives, and as far as he was concerned his focus was on the club, the season and winning games and when it came to the future, what will be will be, he just seemingly wanted to update fans on the fact discussions had now started.
With VVD also able to sign a contract elsewhere come January, Liverpool fans are gong to have an interesting two months.