Rafa Benitez admitted Liverpool will find it extremely tough to keep hold of all of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

It is no secret that all three players are coming to the end of their contracts at Anfield; as things stand they will become free agents on July 1, and they have been free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs since New Year's Day.

Salah and Van Dijk have publicly gone on record hinting at a desire to stay at the club, but agreements are yet to be reached with both players.

Salah, 32, wants a multi-year deal on significant wages, but Liverpool tends to tread carefully when it comes to signing or handing new contracts to players over the age of 30, leading to an impasse between the two parties.

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The feeling seems to be that Van Dijk is the most likely of the three to stay, with Trent Alexander-Arnold the most likely to leave. Updates on Alexander-Arnold's future have been scarce and Real Madrid has made him a top target for the summer window.

"It will not be easy to keep the three players, that is very clear," Benitez told Sky Sports. "The three are very important players but if the club is working on replacements, if the club is making the right approach to them, they will sort it out.

"I don’t know if the three of them [will stay], I don’t think so. If they cannot, I’m sure they will have a new option and the new player will come and will be another kind of player with energy and give something different."

Benitez, a boyhood Real Madrid fan, seemingly hopes the right-back ends up at the Bernabeu. "He’s an offensive defender and he’s playing as a midfielder sometimes," Benitez said. "Real Madrid is an attacking team, the best team in Spain and they will be the best team because they have the potential.

"For an offensive defender in an offensive team, you have more chances to make assists and create situations in attack – they will be good for him as a player.

"He’s doing that at Liverpool but with Real Madrid, you can guarantee he will do that for years. As a Liverpool fan, you would say him staying is much better because he gives us something special. But if he goes, and as a Real Madrid kid all my life, it will also be good for Real Madrid and for him."