While Trent Alexander-Arnold might be leaving Liverpool, he is far from the only big player whose future still needs to be decided. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are both in the same contract position in terms of their deals expiring this summer.
Alexander-Arnold, of course, is the club’s vice-captain. The Reds’ number 66 has held that position since Van Dijk took over the captaincy from Jordan Henderson two years ago — and if he was to leave, then his leadership role would need to be replaced.
The trio of players whose contracts are running down, though, are not the only stars where there is a question mark about their long-term future. Other options, including Andy Robertson, are getting older, too, and Arne Slot would have a decision to make.
“If Virgil stays and Mo stays, then Salah has to be vice-captain for me,” Reds legend John Aldridge wrote in his Liverpool ECHO column. “But if you have to look beyond that, maybe someone like Alexis Mac Allister.
“He’s more experienced than the others and has been right at the top of the game, winning the World Cup with Argentina. The way he holds himself on the pitch, probably him.
“But there’s no glaring captain material. Mo, because he’s been there such a long time and has legendary status. Mo knows what he’s going to do and what he wants to do with his contract. A potential vice-captaincy won’t make any difference to him.
“Can Ibrahima Konate do it if he stays? We’ll wait and see. Robbo in his younger days would have been the one. We’ll have to wait and see.”
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Robertson would appear to be the obvious option but he is only under contract until the summer of 2026. The Scotland left-back is the captain of his country, of course.
“Andy Robertson could be club captain, but is he going to still be starting?” Aldridge added. “There are a lot of things to do in the summer and the left-back position is part of that.
“Will Kostas Tsimikas be going, leaving Robbo vying with a new left-back? We know they’re looking at it. It’s so hard to predict what’s going to happen as so much is up in the air. We just don’t know. All we can do is sit back and wait and see.”
Liverpool.com says: Robertson would appear to be a logical choice. Alisson Becker would be in with a shout too. Salah, though, would relish the role and Liverpool wants him to stay. That would make plenty of sense.
