When Mohamed Salah and Liverpool duo could enter pre-contract negotiations

Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are facing an anxious wait over whether they will stay at Liverpool beyond the end of the 2024/25 season. The Reds trio are out of contract next summer and their long-term futures remain uncertain at this stage.

Salah, who joined the Reds from Roma for £34.3million in June 2017, has established himself as one of the most prolific wingers in Premier League history. In fact, the 32-year-old is eighth on the division's all-time top scorers list with 167 in 275 matches, averaging a goal every 1.6 matches.

Alexander-Arnold, 26, came through the Liverpool academy and made his first-team debut against Tottenham in October 2016. However, it wasn't until the following season where he cemented a place in the starting XI, and he has since became one of the best right-backs in world football.

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Van Dijk, the oldest out of the three aged 33, arrived at Liverpool for a then world record transfer fee for a defender of £75m in January 2018. He, alongside Salah and Alexander-Arnold, helped the Reds win the Premier League and the Champions League as well as a number of other major trophies.

Losing Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk at the same time would be a major blow for Liverpool, and to make matters worse the trio can, in fact, sign a pre-contract agreement with non-English clubs from January. The same applies to goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, who is also out of contract in 2025.

A pre-contract is an agreement made between a player and a club that finalises a move once the player's existing contract has expired. The player can join up with their new club after the expiry of their contract.

Players registered to English clubs can sign a pre-contract agreement to non-English clubs up to six months before their contract expires. However, the rules are different when it comes to negotiations involving two English clubs. Teams can only approach a player playing in the same country when he enters the final month of his contract.

FIFA regulations state: "A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him. A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions."

For example, this means that Alexander-Arnold can sign a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid in January, while Salah and Van Dijk can do the same if they want to depart to a non-English club.