Gary Neville believes Virgil van Dijk is the most important player for Liverpool to keep out of the Dutchman, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Salah are all on course to become free agents at the end of the season, with the club facing criticism in recent months for allowing the situation to develop as it has.
Alexander-Arnold, who has a market value of more than $80 million, looks set to join Real Madrid for free, while Salah continues to be linked with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia. As things stand, it looks as though Van Dijk is the most likely player of the three to remain at Liverpool, and Neville believes that is seriously good news the club.
“That’s great news for Liverpool. I think he’s the most important out of the three, he’s the most important. The goalkeeper and him are the bedrock of what they have achieved this season,” Neville said on the It’s Called Soccer! podcast.
“Salah is amazing, Trent is fantastic, but Van Dijk is the most important I think. If he signs I think the pressure comes off Liverpool a bit in that they’ve not lost all three.”
Liverpool may have lost to Fulham in its most recent Premier League game, but the afternoon did bring about some good news, as Van Dijk gave a contract update to reporters in the Craven Cottage mixed zone.
The 33-year-old said: “There is progress, yes.” When asked whether that meant he would sign an extension, Van Dijk replied: “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He added: “Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see. I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again [at Craven Cottage]. We wanted to reward them but I ask them to be there again on Sunday [against West Ham] and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”
Unfortunately, the news around Alexander-Arnold’s future is not so encouraging, after it was widely reported during the international break that he is set to join Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold has not addressed his future publicly since September, when he responded to a question about his future by saying: “I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say. I have been at the club 20 years now. I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public – and this one won’t be either.”
Salah, meanwhile, has also not spoken publicly about his future for several months. On the field, the Egyptian is enjoying an excellent season, having registered 32 goals and 22 assists for the Reds, but he is without a goal from open play since February 23.
