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'FSG has made a huge mistake with three players as Trent Alexander-Arnold reality is clear'

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all in the final year of their contracts at Liverpool
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Liverpool is back in Champions League action this evening as Arne Slot gets his first taste of a European night at Anfield.

Bologna make their way to Merseyside, with the Reds looking to continue their fine form this season and make it eight wins out of nine in all competitions. Slot has certainly hit the ground running since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, with Liverpool sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League.

Ahead of tonight’s game, we asked Liverpool fan Morgan O'Sullivan from Florida a few questions about the Reds, including what he makes of their title chances this season, and the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool is top of the Premier League. Arne Slot has urged caution, but are you prepared to put the Reds in the title equation?

I have always maintained that we would have a good indicator of our season by the time October came around. All signs to date have been very positive. Five wins from six is title-winning form.

I do like the fact that the manager is keeping a lid on expectations, highlighting how the squad struggled the last season we experienced Champions League football. However, the reality is that the 22/23 season was the year when the realization hit home that Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago and Milner just did not have the legs anymore.

Will we win the title? It is too early to say. We essentially have the same squad and were top of the league before crashing in the final straight last time out. A lack of the Africa Cup of Nations will help us. Manchester City's loss of Rodri will have an impact. People will rave about Arsenal, but we should have beaten them at Anfield last year, and an uncharacteristic error in defense saw us lose away from home. They are not as far ahead of us as people make out. Now is the time to quietly put down our heads and get on with the job.

Mohamed Salah was the Liverpool match-winner at Wolves, even though he didn't play well. How important is it that we hear some news on his contract soon?

There are so many rumors about Mohamed Salah. One day he is guaranteed to leave and the next it is all about him wanting to stay.

The ultimate factor with players and contracts is that the hierarchy in the club should never have let a player get down to less than a year remaining. Before reaching that stage a decision should have been made to either offer a deal or to sell.

As often as people compliment FSG for how they have managed the finances of the club, the fact that we are at such a late stage in these contract negotiations comes down to poor management. I would hope that we hear a contract update on Salah in the coming weeks. If not, it will feel like a big long goodbye after January.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are in the same position, of course. How big a boost would some news on that front be?

Trent is the long-term future of the club. Speculation is rife that he wants to see a statement of intent from FSG about the future of the club.

However, the reality is that Liverpool are unlikely to go and spend big in the next or any transfer window. Our signings are always more calculated than that. The last time we really went big was the period of Van Dijk, Allison and Fabinho. They were the spine for our most successful years of recent times.

Speculation continues over the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold
Speculation continues over the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold -Credit:Getty Images

Could FSG do the same again? It is possible, but the reality is that Trent is now falling into the category of one of those players on the team who is the heartbeat of all we do. The contract needs to be resolved immediately. The only word of caution that I would express on Trent is that he has won every trophy possible with Liverpool. Could we begrudge him a move if he wants a new challenge? All that remains for him is to do it all over again as captain.

Van Dijk has won everything with the club. He is having a great season, and is inspiring all those around him. While he will eventually slow down, a player of his ability, even at 70-80%, would be a massive addition to the squad for the next two or three years. Imagine in two years' time, we have a different center-back pairing, and one gets injured. Bringing on Van Dijk sounds good to me.

What have you made of the new Champions League format so far? Should Liverpool be considered among the favorites?

While there are a lot more games in the new format, it just feels a bit too much. Maybe it will become easier to appreciate and understand once we get further into the league format, but eight games against eight teams in the group stages is a lot to comprehend.

Playing teams once, and not at home and away takes some getting used to! I think it is too early to be talking about favorites. With 24 teams out of 32 essentially qualifying for round two, only the weakest will not survive. After that it becomes a true knockout two-legged competition, where Liverpool will fancy themselves against any European competition. Could we go all the way? Yes! But we would all prefer the league.

Anything else to mention?

We have made a terrific start to the season and all has gone well. Arne Slot is doing and saying all of the right things. I do feel on a sentimental level that we could have one of our former players on the coaching staff. Roy Evans had the link to the boot room. Gerard Houllier brought back Phil Thompson. Rafa Benitez had Sammy Lee. While Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot may not have necessarily brought back any former players, we have some really talented coaches out there who would surely jump at the opportunity to make a return to Anfield.