As Liverpool hit a contract impasse with Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, attentions of the fans will turn towards the club’s contract policy…
IT’S important to remember that when it comes to contracts, as with transfer targets, no one really knows anything.
Oh, we’ll all read how x has rejected or accepted wage y and length z, but ultimately unless you’re in the room with the agent and the club hierarchy, we’re all guessing. Even Arne Slot and probably the players involved are getting everything second hand, so we’ve got no chance.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract seems to be the most troublesome, particularly as Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal did his knee in at the weekend and they’ll be looking at options. Many believe that a mere click of the fingers would see Trent at the Bernabeu and though it’s true that there would only be a few clubs who would interest the 26-year-old nothing is set in stone.
As things stand, Trent plays for Liverpool. Plays pretty well too.
To be honest, I’m not sure what the club are up to. I don’t know if he’s asking for silly money (or at least, sillier) or he’s no interest in staying, but I suspect that the issue is his standpoint rather than the club’s.I find it hard to believe that the club would even countenance the idea of moving him on just to get some cash.
I mean, I love Conor Bradley and think he’s got a great future here, but why sell such a club hero? If it’s to max out their investment — and it very well could be that — then a little bit of my soul has just passed through the wringer. A little bit more, to be honest.
We don’t create and shape generational talent just to make cash before handing them over to a European rival. Do we?
Extend the contract, keep the talent, help Liverpool win things.
Of the three of them, Trent seems to be the only one cupping his ear to the overtures of pretenders.
It’s different with Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah. I’d be amazed if they want to move on. Absolutely amazed.
The club are clearly being frugal in terms of contract length given their respective ages, but even that’s ridiculous.
Mo has started the season like a hurricane. More and more records fall at his feet with every passing week, so it’s not as if his back is going to seize up at any moment. True, there’s always a moment when a player simply can’t do it anymore and has to call it a day, but that could be years away. He still has the pace and passion to give us a minimum of two more years.
Of course, he’s played a masterstroke with his post-match interview at Old Trafford. Don’t tell me there wasn’t an agenda in play there.
‘We like your haircut, Mo.’
‘Yeah, this is my last season.’
I mean…
He wants to stay. He loves breaking records. Numbers are important to him. It might even be the only reason he wants to stay, though I doubt it.
Extend the contract, keep the talent, help Liverpool win things.
And then there’s the captain. Does he look like his legs are going to pack in?
There’s an argument which suggests he’s playing the best football of his career. He’s been incredible this season. Back to his pre-Goodison maiming best. The calmness, the control and the scowl are all back to what they were.
Why on earth would any club consider not having Virgil van Dijk when Virgil van Dijk already plays for them? Who would we buy to replace him? Someone like Virgil van Dijk? A younger model? And where would they be exactly?
Let’s not be stupid. Extend the contract, keep the talent, help Liverpool win things.
Help Liverpool win things. Do everything that helps Liverpool win things. That’s the primary concern for FSG, not ‘sell players before their worth depreciates’. No one’s worth is depreciating to the point of cash out here. Surely the team is more important than putting more big numbers on an already substantial bank balance.
I’ve got a bad feeling about that, though. Souls tend to be quashed when the bottom line is impacted.
Yeah, yeah. Football’s a business. I get it. I prefer my soul.
Let’s not be silly, Liverpool. Help Liverpool win things.
Then again, when it comes to contracts, no one really knows anything.
