Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann says his old side has a bigger priority than tying down Mohamed Salah to a new deal this summer. In his opinion, Virgil van Dijk is the one who simply must stay.
With Real Madrid seemingly closing in on a move for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool still has work to do on the other two contract situations that need resolving. So far, while negotiations are ongoing, there has been no breakthrough with either Van Dijk or Salah— with Ibrahima Konate soon only having one year left as well.
With plenty of tasks for sporting director Richard Hughes to accomplish this summer already, trying to replace Van Dijk or Salah — or even both — would only make his job even harder. News on both players will have to arrive sooner rather than later with nine games of the Premier League campaign remaining.
“Keeping Van Dijk has to be the priority for Liverpool; he is the heart of the team,” Hamann told Card Player. “He stabilizes everything and makes other players better.
“He’s just a rock at the back and he’s been for a number of years now so I think he’s the most important. It’s a bizarre situation because we don’t know whether he’s been offered a contract or whether he’s holding out for more money or what the situation is.
“It’s very hard to tell but I would find it very bizarre if these players hadn’t been offered contracts. If they have been offered a contract, you can’t be too harsh on the club because the players might want more money or a longer deal, so there is negotiation there.
“It’s very hard to make a statement or to judge because you don’t know what the situation is, but the bottom line is, I don’t think it would happen at any other club that three players are out of contract in three months’ time.
“There’s about 10 or 12 games to go and you don’t know what’s going to happen with them, when are you going to think about a replacement, it will be too late and that probably makes players more expensive.
“I’m sure they do their homework and that they’ve got players in mind, but it’s a very strange situation. Liverpool do their business differently to other teams and clubs — but you have to say that in the past and it hasn’t done too much harm.”
Liverpool.com says: Losing either Salah or Van Dijk would be a nightmare because neither would be possible to replace. Salah is the best attacking player in the world when you look at his numbers and Van Dijk is unrivaled at center-back. Liverpool will have to find a way beyond them at some point, but delaying that as long as possible should be the aim. Both players want to stay.
