Mohamed Salah’s decisive goal against Brighton, which propelled Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table, served as a timely reminder of what the Reds could stand to lose if contract negotiations do not proceed favorably.
Forward Salah, along with defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, has been a cornerstone of Liverpool’s recent success. However, in just nine weeks, all three could potentially sign deals elsewhere and leave the club for free.
The trio will be out of contract at the end of the season, following the departure of legendary manager Jurgen Klopp last year.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards stated on BBC Match of the Day: “They need to sign Mo Salah; it’s crucial that they offer him a two-year deal.
“He doesn’t need to be at his best to score goals and create significant moments. That’s the distinction between a very good player and a top player.”
“These are the three most influential players, alongside the goalkeeper [Alisson],” said former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
“They are all legendary figures at the club, and their contributions are likely why this season has gone so well.”
And it has indeed gone very well. Liverpool has won an impressive 13 out of 15 matches since Arne Slot took over from Klopp in the summer, including Saturday’s game, where they responded to a first half dominated by Brighton.
“They came out in the second half with a completely different attitude,” remarked BBC pundit Chris Sutton. “That was Klopp-like intensity from Slot’s team, and it could be a massive win for Liverpool.”
With 220 goals in 364 appearances, the Egyptian Salah ranks fifth on Liverpool’s all-time leading goalscorer list, just eight goals behind Billy Liddell.
His latest goal was a spectacular effort, curling the ball into the far corner from the right. It marked the 48th time he had scored a winning goal in the Premier League.
“That was a Mo Salah special,” Slot described it. “It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last that he scores from that position.”
Van Dijk assisted fellow Netherlands international Cody Gakpo’s equalizer after Ferdi Kadioglu had given Brighton the lead.
How crucial is the trio to Liverpool?
Since Van Dijk’s £75m transfer from Southampton in January 2018, various injuries have limited the trio to just 59% of Liverpool’s matches together, yet their impact is undeniable, with 154 victories from those 221 games.
They have become the backbone of one of Liverpool’s great teams, reaching the Champions League final three times, winning once, securing their only Premier League title, and lifting an FA Cup and two League Cups.
Their win percentage rises to 70% when they all play together, compared to just 59% when they don’t.
There have only been 14 matches (out of 376) where none of them have featured, with only two of those occurring in the league.
Salah has been Liverpool’s most utilized player under Klopp, with Alexander-Arnold in second place and Van Dijk, now the club captain, in fifth.
Salah has been a revelation since joining Liverpool, despite being a winger who had never previously scored 20 goals in a season.
In terms of combined goals and assists in the Premier League, only seven players have been involved in more than his 238 since the league’s inception in 1992.
Only Salah and Wayne Rooney have both scored and assisted 10 or more goals in five different Premier League seasons—a record he aims to hold on his own later this campaign, as he already has six goals and five assists.
Since Alexander-Arnold’s Premier League debut in December 2016, he has assisted 59 league goals, the fourth highest in that time, and created the third most chances.
Only James Ward-Prowse and James Maddison have netted more than his six free-kicks during this period.
Meanwhile, only eight defenders have scored more Premier League goals than Van Dijk, and Liverpool’s win percentage drops from 70% to 52% when he is absent.
He boasts the seventh highest win percentage in Premier League history.
Where might they go? Are Liverpool concerned about losing these players?
Real Madrid have been linked with England’s Alexander-Arnold, who spoke recently about how important winning a Ballon d’Or would be.
Salah has been linked with a move to a Saudi Arabian club since their state-funded transfer spree started last year.
The Reds rejected a £150m bid for him in the summer of 2023 – a big decision to make two years before the end of his deal.
It is a slightly unusual position with contract doubts over three guaranteed starters – especially for a club as big as Liverpool.
But Slot did not seem too concerned about the situation in Friday’s pre-match news conference.
“For me the contract situation could become a problem if the players don’t perform as well as they do at the moment,” Slot said.
“At the moment all three of them are in a good place, all of them perform really, really, really well.
“There are ongoing discussions, as Virgil said, with the people he has to talk with, and that’s not me. I talk to him about other things.
“Let’s wait and see but all what he said is completely right in that he doesn’t exactly know what the future will be as long as he doesn’t sign the contract yet.”
Liverpool fans that BBC Sport spoke to before the game did not seem too concerned, with many confident the three would stay, although there was a fear that Salah could leave for Saudi Arabia.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Friday Football Social, thinks Van Dijk, 33, and Salah, 32, are more likely to stay than academy product Alexander-Arnold, 26.
“I’m pretty confident that the two older lads will sign. They are probably at the stage of their careers where it is difficult to move to a better club than Liverpool,” he said.
“I think Salah will be desperate to break as many records as he can at Liverpool.
“I think the argument will be when you are up for that last contract and it’s not really about money but length of the contracts as you get older.
“Trent is in a different situation and that’s probably the one people are most worried with with Real Madrid potentially interested. Dani Carvajal has just done his ACL so they are probably desperate for a right-back for the next 18 months.”