Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has suggested that Liverpool's owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), should hesitate to offer Mohamed Salah a new contract because of his advancing years.

The mercurial Egyptian's contract at Anfield is running down and will expire in June, with Salah turning 33. Despite his age, Salah's contributions remain substantial amassing 18 goals and 13 assists this term.

Ex-Chelsea striker Hasselbaink, on talkSPORT's The LineUp, praised Salah's consistent top-tier performance: "Salah is doing the business week in, week out at the top, top level. There are not a lot of players like Salah who will be playing as well as he is in the last year of their contract."

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Salah's ability to maintain high standards amid the speculation over his future is tantamount to his mental resilience, according to Hasselbaink. "He can obviously put all of the distractions to the side and perform like he has been I think it really shows how mentally strong he is," he added.

"If I'm the manager of Liverpool, I obviously want to keep all three of Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. But I would let Salah go because of his age. You would have to pay him mega money and I just don't think you can give a player of his age a three-year contract. Business-wise, it's not sustainable and the best business for Liverpool is to see him go."

Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold are all heading towards the end of their contracts with Liverpool, stirring some anxious chatter among fans about their future at Anfield.

While Salah's situation remains uncertain, 33-year-old Van Dijk, despite inching closer to what many might call the twilight of his career, is still in excellent condition too. As for Trent Alexander-Arnold, at 26 years old, rumors have linked him with a potential switch to Real Madrid, a move that would surely leave a huge gap in Arne Slot's roster if he were to depart for nothing in the summer.

"I think Van Dijk will stay as you can still get three good years out of him playing as a center-back," Hasselbaink said. "As for Trent, it all depends on what he really wants and where he sees his career going. Do you only dream of being a Liverpool player or do you want to see how good you can be in a different country and culture?

"Regardless of whether he leaves, he'll go down as a Liverpool legend. Ian Rush was viewed like that and he went and played for Juventus, so I don't think Trent moving should take away from what he's done at Anfield. He puts that Liverpool shirt on with pride and tries his hardest, so we shouldn't criticize him if he goes to Madrid. For all we know, he might come back."

Liverpool.com says: Losing any of the trio would be a major blow, especially for nothing. Salah might be getting older but he could be in the middle of his best ever season goalscoring and assisting wise. Replacing someone that good would be near-impossible.