While Trent Alexander-Arnold might have decided to try something new with Real Madrid, Liverpool looks set to keep hold of two other key pillars of its team: Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Earlier this week, it emerged that the Reds are confident of coming to an agreement with the pair over an extension. Salah and Van Dijk are only tied down until the end of the season and nothing has been confirmed yet, but with only seven games remaining, an update one way or another was inevitably going to emerge sooner rather than later.
If Liverpool does indeed get the two big contracts over the line, that will come as a colossal boost for head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes. But what will it mean? Liverpool.com has taken a look.
Liverpool records and trophies chased
If Salah signs a two-year deal and remains at Anfield until then, he will reach 10 years at the club having arrived in Jurgen Klopp’s second summer at the helm in 2017. While catching Ian Rush’s 346 goals looks beyond even the Egyptian in that period (Salah is currently 103 behind), there are plenty more records to be chased.
Salah is only 42 goals behind Roger Hunt in second spot having made 98 fewer appearances to date. His goals-per-game ratio is substantially better than anyone else in the top 10 aside from Gordon Hodgson, whose pure goal volume he has already surpassed.
While Van Dijk won’t find it so easy to reach individual milestones like scoring, both players should expect to win more silverware in the next couple of years. Manchester City and Arsenal are both playing catch-up and Liverpool — with Salah and Van Dijk — is likely to head into next season as the Premier League title favorite.
(Image: Getty Images)
Transfer priorities become clearer
Liverpool has plenty of work to do this summer but somehow replacing Salah and Van Dijk would have shot to the top of the priority list had either (or both) moved on. That would have been near-impossible.
The immediate priorities, if both stay, can be elsewhere. At left-back and number nine, for instance, there is a pretty obvious need for improvement. That should be possible on both fronts.
Longer-term, Liverpool will still need to find replacements for Salah and Van Dijk — even they won’t be able to play at the top level forever. That would be pushed back a couple of years with contract extensions, crucially giving more time for Slot and Hughes to formulate an idea. Succession planning for this pair is not something that can be rushed.
(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Arne Slot secures two key pillars
Salah is a near-guarantee of 30-plus goals in the next campaign — even with the Egyptian set to captain his national team at the Africa Cup of Nations mid-season — and the Liverpool attack can remain centered around him if he stays. Van Dijk, meanwhile, is showing no signs of winding down when it comes to playing at the very elite level of the game.
Van Dijk has been the best center-back around this season and Salah, until Liverpool was knocked out of the Champions League by PSG, was looking like a very good bet for the Ballon d’Or. Neither of those things are likely to change.
As a result, Slot has two pillars of his side nailed down as he heads into a vital summer. Liverpool will undergo a few changes, but two key members of its team — and its leadership group — will stay put. Short-term, that means more team success. Long-term, it should mean a greater chance of being able to plan for a smooth transition when the time does eventually come.
