Cole Palmer admission tells Liverpool all it needs to know about contract decision

There's certainly no stress at Chelsea about Cole Palmer's deal: remarkably, he is tied down until 2033. But the Premier League's newest star has given Liverpool a reminder about its own contract situation.

Undoubtedly, there is a happy medium between Liverpool and Chelsea. The Blues may be smug about having secured Palmer's long-term future, but they also have a number of increasingly out-of-favor players tied down to ludicrously extensive agreements.

Nonetheless, Richard Hughes would be forgiven for feeling a pang of envy. The sporting director has inherited a situation whereby Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all heading inexorably toward the end of their deals.

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As things stand, all three will be allowed to negotiate with foreign clubs in a little over two months, disucssing a potential free transfer ahead of the campaign's conclusion. In Alexander-Arnold's case, links to Real Madrid are getting ever harder to ignore.

There does at least appear to be some progress when it comes to Van Dijk. The captain had previously maintained that there had been no developments, but recently revealed that talks are ongoing.

On paper, Van Dijk's deal would be the lowest priority of the three contracts. He is the oldest of the trio, and questions over his level have bizarrely followed him around ever since his return from the serious injury inflicted by Jordan Pickford.

But Palmer has given Liverpool a reminder of exactly why an extension for Van Dijk would still be very shrewd. Asked to name the toughest opponent he has faced, the Premier League Player of the Month for September had no hesitation.

He chose Van Dijk. And while Liverpool probably didn't need a reminder of the Dutchman's quality, it was nonetheless a significant answer.

After all, Palmer's breakthrough is recent. He has only faced the post-injury version of Van Dijk, the one rival fans (and seemingly all Dutch pundits) have been eager to put down.

Even so, the Liverpool defender is the toughest defender Palmer has come up against. It's a subjective assessment, of course, but one of the division's form attackers has effectively declared Van Dijk the best center-back in the league.

Naturally, Liverpool should be in no rush to usher such a player off the books. Even at 33, Van Dijk is still recognized by his peers as one of the very best around — it's no wonder the Reds have opened talks.

Liverpool.com says: Liverpool clearly has to look beyond the here and now when committing to any expensive contracts, but Palmer's verdict does pretty much say it all. Frankly, there have not yet been any signs that Van Dijk's levels are declining, which should be evidence enough to justify a new deal.

In a worst-case scenario, Liverpool might see the value in such a deal tail off toward the end, when age could eventually start to catch up to Van Dijk. But defenders are carrying on for longer and longer at the top level, and it would be foolish to let the center-back that nobody wants to face walk away just because of the number on his birth certificate.