Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool’s recent Carabao Cup final defeat and Champions League exit could significantly influence Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s futures. The Reds’ 2-1 setback against Newcastle United at Wembley closely followed the penalty shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
This double blow has put a dent in Liverpool’s trophy ambitions this season, particularly following the early FA Cup departure in the fourth round with a 1-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle. This leaves the Premier League as the only piece of silverware they can compete for in Arne Slot’s inaugural season.
Despite being comfortably ahead in the Premier League – 12 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with nine games left – club legend Carragher believes these cup competition defeats could seriously impact Salah and Van Dijk’s contract talks.
Both key players’ contracts with Liverpool are due to expire this summer, allowing them to enter discussions with overseas clubs until the end of the season. After this point, they will become free agents, able to sign with any club without Liverpool receiving any compensation.
On the podcast It’s Called Soccer! Carragher shared his apprehensions about Liverpool’s key players, suggesting that while they had the upper hand in the “PR battle” due to the trophy pursuits, the club now holds the advantage in contract negotiations.
He expressed: “You know what worries me, not from their point of view, more from a club’s point of view – I mean, Van Dijk and Salah have almost come out and said they want to stay now, of course they do.
“I mean listen – Mo Salah’s been saying he hasn’t been offered contracts hasn’t he? What he’s basically saying is ‘if someone puts a contract in or it if they match my terms then I’ll sign’. But what those terms are we don’t know.
(Image: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
“My feeling and my worry is it kept feeling like Mo Salah and Van Dijk were winning the PR battle because Liverpool is top of the league, had won every game in the Champions League, there was talk about trebles.
“I hope this isn’t the case, but maybe the people of the club are going, ‘Is this a little sign of things to come in the future? Is this Salah being off form or is this the is this the future of Salah’ – and if they don’t win as much are they in a stronger bargaining position to say ‘We want more’?”.
“I don’t know what they’re asking for, but are the club now right to say, ‘Hang on, we think you are only worth this [amount]. I mean you’ve [almost] won the league, we haven’t won the Champions League, we haven’t done that, you haven’t won the Ballon d’Or’.
“I was actually thinking, I think this means the club are maybe not going to shift the goal posts at all, maybe only slightly, if you end up winning the league.”
Even with the disappointment of the Carabao Cup loss and bowing out of the Champions League still fresh, Salah and Van Dijk have yet to voice any stance on their contract situations, which may hint at a rather encouraging sign.
