Arne Slot thinks that Liverpool’s ongoing contract drama could be more of a help than a hindrance as the Reds prepare for their crucial Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday.

While Liverpool’s focus is on maintaining their title challenge, much of the spotlight this week has been on the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, all of whom are out of contract in the summer. Alexander-Arnold's future has been a particularly hot topic after Liverpool rejected an approach from Real Madrid to sign him this month.

Slot believes the speculation surrounding his key players might be helping to keep the team grounded. “Maybe it’s even helpful now you ask me," Slot said. “Because if it (the discussion around Liverpool) is only about how great we are doing, then maybe every week I have to have a meeting telling the players it’s not perfect yet and we have to do better. And now maybe it is also about different things [in the press]. Not everyone is telling them how great they are, so sometimes that can help as well.”

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The Reds' head coach stressed that the contract discussions haven’t distracted the team, saying: “For me, it doesn’t distract at all, I think we get enough credit for the way we play and here in the building we don’t even talk about this [speculation]. Maybe in the building we do, but me with the players, we don’t talk about these situations.”

As Alexander-Arnold prepares to face United at Anfield for the first time since Madrid's winter approach emerged, Slot isn’t concerned about any potentially negative reaction from the fans.

“I don’t think I need to tell our fans how to react because they have always been so supportive and have been supporting their team and their players for so, so many years," the Dutchman said. “So I don’t think they need me to tell them how to react and I fully trust them that they will react in the right manner.”

He added: “I am convinced that he is playing for us on Sunday and I think it is so difficult in football to talk about what happens in a month or in six months. So in football, such a difficult question to answer because there is hardly any long term in football, especially not for a manager, so your only focus is on the short term. The only thing I do know is that he is fully focused and ready to play for us on Sunday and as long as he is here.”