Liverpool braced for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk contract approaches

Liverpool braced for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk contract approaches

Liverpool are braced for interest in Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to be stepped up as clubs from across world football now circle

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk (pictured with Arne Slot) and Mohamed Salah can speak to overseas clubs about free transfer summer moves from today

Liverpool are braced for interest in Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to be stepped up as clubs from across world football now circle over potential pre-contract agreements. All three see their terms expire at the end of the campaign and they can now legally open talks with interested parties from outside of England as a result.

It's understood Liverpool remain locked in negotiations with the representatives of all three but January 1 is the date from which other clubs can now speak to the agents of players out of contract at the end of the season and formal proposals can be put forward from New Year's Day onwards.

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Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk have been integral to a Reds side that kicks off 2025 as Premier League and Champions League leaders but with the no agreements yet in place, the prospect of them leaving as free agents later this year remains in play as things stand.

Despite the significance of the date, however, Liverpool are relaxed about the situation, with Arne Slot saying after the 3-1 win over Leicester City on Boxing Day that January 1 will not lead to an internal panic behind the scenes at the AXA Training Centre.

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"If we would [have made any breakthroughs] then it's probably not the moment to tell you now," the Reds head coach said. "In general, I don't talk about contract situations here. It would be a surprise if 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 (media), 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."

None of the trio are obligated to tell their current employers about any negotiations with potential suitors at this stage and with Real Madrid strongly linked to Alexander-Arnold, in particular, it's expected that the current Champions League holders will intensify their attempts to snare Liverpool's vice-captain on a free. And it emerged last night that Madrid had an approach to sign the England star during January instantly turned down.

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Spanish publication Marca carried an image of Alexander-Arnold on its front page on Saturday with the claim that the player had informed the club of his desire to move to Madrid at the end of the campaign. Those suggestions have been dismissed at Anfield, with sources insisting that hasn't been communicated by either the player himself or his camp, and Liverpool are still hopeful of tying down the 26-year-old to fresh terms.

Alexander-Arnold's 'chatting' motion in celebration of his goal in Sunday's 5-0 win over West Ham United was interpreted in some quarters as a response to that speculation but the player himself declined to comment when asked after the game at the London Stadium, preferring to steer clear of further increasing the talk around his future.

Salah, meanwhile, has previously been the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad seeing an eye-watering offer of £150m turned down in August 2023, but more recent remarks from the Egyptian have indicated he is keen to remain on Merseyside, if an agreement can be reached.

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The ECHO reported back in September how Salah was desperate to stay put on Merseyside, where he is settled with family and speaking in a rare interview after the 3-2 win over Southampton on November 24, the No.11 said: "Well, we are almost in December and I haven't received any offers yet to stay in the club, [so] I'm probably more out than in.

"You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven't received anything yet about my future.

"I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans' hands. Let's wait and see. Of course [no offer is disappointing], yeah. I'm not going to retire soon so I'm just playing, focusing on the season and I'm trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I'm disappointed but we will see.

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"I'm very professional. Everybody can see my work ethic. I'm just trying to enjoy my football and I will play at the top level as long as possible. I'm just doing my best because this is who I am and I try to give it all for myself and for the club. We will see what happens next."

Asked once more about the situation on Sunday after his goal and two assists helped see off West Ham, the 20-goal marksman said: “We are far away from that, but again I won’t want to put something in the media and people start saying stuff. Nothing has really moved on and now I’m focused on the team and I hope to win the Premier League.”

Van Dijk has regularly been asked about his own situation this season but has always chosen to keep ongoing negotiations between his representatives and the club private.

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However, speaking to Amazon Prime as part of the build-up for the win over Leicester on December 26, the Reds captain said: "I love the club, the club loves me. I love the fans, the fans love me and it is a very good foundation to be successful. In my opinion I can play for another three, four years at least at the highest level. We will see what the future brings."

Speaking about the prospect of speculation growing around a trio of players who have been hugely influential to the cause in his maiden term at Anfield, Slot said on Sunday: "I think I have a lot of control over what they do.

"If they're on a training pitch, if they're in a meeting with me, but talking about the private lives, I don't have control about them. So that was the situation I had a year ago.

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"That's been the situation as long as I'm a manager, but I have control to a certain extent over them from what I expect from them on the pitch. And I'm really pleased to see what Virgil brings, what Trent brings and what Mo brings.

"Now the positive thing for me is that for four or five months it was only Trent, Mo and Virgil, what you guys were talking about.

"And I assume - and don't let me down now please - that people now are going to talk about how we're going for a player and who we are going to bring in the upcoming month and which other player is going to leave. So I get some other questions as well. Not only about these (three)."

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