Arne Slot delivers update on Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold contract talks

Arne Slot claims Liverpool are in “constant talks” with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold as the trio of stars are just days away from opening transfer talks with foreign clubs.

Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold can speak to clubs outside England about free transfers in July from Wednesday. Slot is calm about the situation, even though Liverpool fans are becoming increasingly nervous, and insists the club are speaking to them constantly behind the scenes.

The Reds boss played down a question from the media that January 1 is a big moment in the club’s attempts to hang on to three of their biggest stars. Slot insists contract talks are not his department as head coach and that he would not be the one from the club to break any news on negotiations.

“In general, I don’t talk about contract situations here,” he said. “It would be a surprise I was the one to announce that one of them has extended. Keep asking, that’s your job, but you’re probably not going to get an answer from me.

“It’s clear that from 1 January, maybe for you guys, things change a lot, but they are in constant talks with the club and let’s wait and see what happens. As long as they keep performing like this, the head coach is happy.”

Slot is focusing on results and performances and hailed van Dijk as Liverpool’s “leader”. Van Dijk clocks up seven years at Anfield this weekend since his £75million move from Southampton, then a world-record for a defender.

He has been immense for Liverpool and has grown in importance since being made captain by Jurgen Klopp 18 months ago. Slot was delighted to inherit his fellow Dutchman when he succeeded Klopp in the summer and says he displays his natural authority all the time.

“He is the vocal leader of the team and every time we start an exercise, he’s on top of his team-mates and he leads by example,” he said. “So, for me, he’s been outstanding until now and I only hope he can continue showing this during the games and the training sessions as long as he is with us.”

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

Slot studied van Dijk from The Netherlands and says his value to Liverpool is summed up by how badly they struggled without him when he was injured in 2020-21. “He’s a tremendous player and has been for so many years for Liverpool,” he said.

“Unfortunately he was out with an injury for almost all of that season and that didn’t help this football club at all. So that probably tells you how much of an impact he’s had here.

“I can only tell you about my experiences of him and not only is he outstanding during the games, he has such a big impact during training sessions as well.”

Van Dijk knows no trophies are handed out now, despite Liverpool’s strong position in the Premier League, and claims they must build on their solid foundations. “We know there’s still a long way to go in the season and we certainly won’t be taking anything for granted,” said the centre-half.

“We know we’ve given ourselves a platform from which to build. The task now is very simple - keep working hard, keep showing up every single day and keep giving everything we can.

“If we stay humble and stick to those principles, we can definitely make 2025 another memorable year.”

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