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Ex-Liverpool star believes Arne Slot has handled contract situation of Reds trio perfectly

Liverpool players Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah before the Premier League match at Manchester United on September 1 2024
-Credit: (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)


Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper David James believes Arne Slot has handled the situation surrounding the futures of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk well so far.

The Reds trio are all out of contract next summer, something which should be of significant concern to both Liverpool as a club and its supporters. And to make matters worse, all three have started the new season in excellent form.

Bar the defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend, they have won the other four games they have played, beating Ipswich Town, Brentford, Manchester United and AC Milan. But, talk around the futures of Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk persists.

Given their importance to Liverpool, it does not seem likely that chatter will quieten down any time soon until their respective futures are settled. However, Slot has made the decision not to talk publicly about the futures of the Reds triumvirate, who are the essentially the faces of Liverpool since the 2017/18 season.

And that is a move James believes has been a good one by Slot. Speaking to SafestCasinoSites, James said: "I think Slot’s right. The contract situation of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk won’t be a distraction for him as a manager and it shouldn’t really be a distraction for those players given their experience and their position within the hierarchy of the Liverpool team and dressing room.

Liverpool goalkeeper David James in action during a Premier League game between Arsenal and Liverpool at Highbury on March 26, 1994 in London, England.
David James during his Liverpool days -Credit:Shaun Botterill/Allsport/Getty Images

"It would have been easy for Slot to go in and offer these guys new deals right away, but he’s waited, which I think is the right thing to do for a new manager. For the players, they’ve seen what Slot is bringing on the pitch and off it, and they will be thinking that they want to be part of it. Arne will want to keep the levels high; he’ll want to see improvement."

While Alexander-Arnold will be 26 entering next season, Salah and Van Dijk will be 33 and 34 years old respectively. Liverpool has traditionally shied away from given extensions to their aging stars in the past. But with the two playing so well of late, Salah and Van Dijk may have forced Liverpool's hand into negotiating extensions for the duo.

James added: "There are stronger doubts about Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk because they are older players moving towards the end of their careers, but from what I’ve seen from their performances this season, these guys don’t look like players that are happy to see things out - they look hungry to achieve something.

"From a Liverpool point-of-view, the more successful they are on the pitch, the easier it is to retain these players and ask them to commit for a couple more years."

Liverpool.com says: "While Slot may not be discussing contract talks publicly, behind the scenes Liverpool need to be working day and night to sort out the futures of Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold urgently because the longer it drags on, the more noise it will lead to.

"You could understand the decision making behind letting Salah and Van Dijk walk IF they were not performing at the level they currently were. However, they are, and Liverpool would be a much worse side without their presence.

"In the case of Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool must do everything they can to keep the full-back at Anfield. The 25-year-old is a world class player who would walk into any team on the planet and losing him on a free to Real Madrid potentially would represent a catastrophic failure by the Reds."