Alan Shearer heaped praise on Liverpool‘s medical team – suggesting they deserve a pay rise amidst the uncertainty of contract renewals for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Although their top scorer faces an unclear future along with the club captain and vice-captain, the Reds have had a remarkable season with Arne Slot at the helm, establishing a 13-point lead over Arsenal in the Premier League.
Liverpool fans around the world are eagerly awaiting news on whether the trio will commit to new deals. Yet, with focus on the players’ futures, Newcastle United great Shearer has pointed out that the club’s medical staff merit increased wages for keeping the squad largely injury-free this campaign.
Despite losing Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota for periods this season, managing to maintain the fitness of mainstays like Salah, Van Dijk, and Ryan Gravenberch – who’ve all featured in every league match – has been a key advantage for Slot, particularly as title rivals Arsenal wrestle with several absent forwards.
Speaking to Betfair, the renowned pundit said: “Another feature of the season has been teams having lots of injuries, but Liverpool haven’t – they’ve been a pretty steady ship. Yeah, they’ve had one or two injuries.
“But when you compare that to other teams who have been decimated then Liverpool haven’t really had that. For the vast majority of the season, they’ve kept their big-hitters fit and in the team every single week for league games.
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“You have to say, whatever they’re doing in terms of their sports science, rest and recovery; they have to be given great credit for that. Their medical team behind the scenes will either be tapped up in the summer, or they’ll be in for a pay increase!” As for Salah, Shearer reiterated his thoughts on the winger’s future and admitted he can’t see anything but the 32-year-old in red next season.
“There’s still no word on his contract situation, but I’d be amazed if Liverpool don’t sort something out to keep him at least for another year or two,” he added. “Losing Mo Salah would be huge for Liverpool and the Premier League, because he’s an iconic player.
“Everything he’s doing right now seems to result in either a goal or an assist. Even against Newcastle on Wednesday night, Lewis Hall gave him a really good battle, but some of his bits of quality were just superb. He is an icon of the Premier League, no doubt about it.”
