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Ian Graham should already have given game away on Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk contracts

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk celebrate during Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool.
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)


If the story of the summer was whether or not Liverpool would manage to sign a couple of extra bodies for Arne Slot’s roster, the main talking point between now and January will be whether there is progress on keeping some existing pillars of the team.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is someone who should be obviously given a new deal, given that he is only turning 26 in October and still has his peak years ahead of him. But there is perhaps more of a question mark over the futures of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

Both of the latter players are now in their 30s, though they are showing no signs of slowing down just yet and are still among the very best in the world in their positions. It seems a given that they too would be handed extensions but Salah said last weekend that no talks have yet begun.

Former Liverpool FC director of research Ian Graham has written a book (How To Win the Premier League) and he gave some insight into what considerations will be taking place behind the scenes at Anfield to Liverpool.com.

"Age definitely makes a difference and there is a general rule but that has to be personalized for who the player is," Graham says. "Center-back is a position that skews old and you would be less worried than a winger who relies on speed a lot more.

"But then again, if Liverpool is going to play a very high line, recovery pace is very important. The personalization depends on what you have shown in the past.

"The typical aging curve is described as a player rapidly getting better until the age of 27 and then a rapid decline but that decline isn’t really as rapid as people think. The decline happens because of the minutes rather than the quality of the player.

"The players stay maybe not quite as good but they just stop being able put in 3000 minutes per season. And that is where the personalization comes in.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are in the same boat as Mohamed Salah
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are in the same boat as Mohamed Salah -Credit:Getty Images

"If there is a player who has demonstrated that they can put in 3000 minutes per season vs a player who has some injuries, a player in and out of the team at 27 is going to drop off more than someone who is a regular starter."

If we apply that logic to the contracts of Van Dijk and Salah — with Alexander-Arnold still over a year away from reaching the age of 27 — then the conclusion is surely that Liverpool extends the deals of both players, even if only for a couple of years.

Van Dijk played more than 4000 minutes last season and has only dipped under 3600 minutes for a full season at Liverpool once since he arrived on Merseyside — when he suffered the ACL injury at Goodison Park.

Salah, meanwhile, even though he missed a chunk of last season because of AFCON and then an injury, still notched more than 3000 minutes. In every other year he has been at Liverpool, he has played more than 4100 minutes, almost always being available.

With neither player showing any sign of being unable to play as often this season, losing either on a free transfer should not be an option for Liverpool. Until the new contract talks begin and the paperwork is signed, however, fans will have to endure an anxious wait.