Arne Slot has made it clear he has input in his squad’s contract talks as Liverpool fans continue to fear an exodus of their most important players.
With star players’ Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s contracts winding down come summer, the Dutch coach knew he was stepping into a team that had an uncertain future when he replaced the legendary Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The Reds are working hard to keep their top talent and now Slot has weighed in on the matter, clarifying that he has been talking to the club’s new sporting director Richard Hughes, who moved to Merseyside from Bournemouth. Slot said: “It would be strange if I had no input.
“Sometimes being head coach is convenient. Contract situations are talked about by people who need to talk about it. I speak about it with Richard and not in front of you guys with a microphone.”
The key trio in question were pivotal in Liverpool‘s Premier League triumph in 2020 and their Champions League victory the year before. Star forward and goal machine Salah himself hinted back in September that he reckoned this season might be his Anfield swansong, having not heard anything from the club’s execs.
(Image: Getty Images)
Club captain and defensive colossus Van Dijk has offered Reds fans a glimmer of hope about his future at Anfield, admitting that “discussions are ongoing” but keeping tight-lipped on the end result. He told the press: “I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know, we will see what happens in the future.
“My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else,” reports the Mirror. “What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started up and we will see.”
Meanwhile, creator supreme Alexander-Arnold has been earning suitors over in Spain in the form of Real Madrid. And the Spanish giants are hoping the right-back’s relationship with Jude Bellingham could lure him to Madrid.
However, Kop legend Jamie Carragher felt a bit iffy about the full-back’s chances when the defender said his ambition was to win the Ballon d’Or. The Sky Sports pundit said: “You can try and win the Ballon d’Or, but my first thought when I read that was you’re not winning the Ballon d’Or as a right-back for Liverpool.
“Ballon d’Or winners normally play for Real Madrid or Barcelona, that’s where the best players in the world go.”