Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has urged the club to make ‘big decisions’ over the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The trio were key pillars in the success enjoyed by the Reds under Jurgen Klopp, who guided the club to Premier League and Champions League titles — and a further two finals — as well as a host of other honours.
However, all three have entered the final year of their contracts and are yet to accept new terms from the club. To see them leave Anfield for free would be a disaster, given they have a collective market value of €155m (per Transfermarkt).
And the loss of each would be felt in different ways, with Salah a talismanic goalscorer and enjoying a strong pre-season, Van Dijk the club captain and defensive stalwart, and Alexander-Arnold a creative powerhouse from the right.
For Thompson, the future of these players is one of the key problems to solve during the early stages of Arne Slot’s tenure in charge.
Phil Thompson urges Liverpool to solve contract problem
“He seems invigorated now and it’s all wonderful,” Thompson told talkSPORT of Salah, but then added: “But he’s not signed a contract. Trent’s not signed a contract. Virgil van Dijk’s not signed a contract.
“These are three big players we can ill afford, with our finances, to allow to go for nothing at the end of the season.
“So big decisions have got to be made with Mo, with Trent, with Virgil. Because when you’re budgeting in your finances for your club, you’ll have these prices, a certain price.
“Now, if they’re going for nothing at the end of next season, it’s a massive [loss]. So I still think decisions with one or two of them, big decisions have still got to be made.”
Liverpool have enjoyed a strong pre-season so far, beating Real Betis, Arsenal and Manchester United during their US tour — the latter by a 3-0 scoreline.
Their final friendly comes against Sevilla at Anfield on Sunday before they travel to Ipswich Town in their opening fixture of the 2024/25 Premier League season.