'Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk to sign new Liverpool contracts'

03/30/2025 04:00 AM

Liverpool are expected to keep Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk at the club, despite being set to lose Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer to Real Madrid, by Tim Sherwood.

The trio’s ongoing contractual situation at Liverpool appears to be edging closer to a final decision, with star man Salah and club captain van Dijk set to extend their stay in Merseyside.

While this is a massive positive for the club, the news of academy graduate Alexander-Arnold being close to agreeing terms in a free transfer to Real Madrid, will undoubtedly weaken Arne Slot’s side going into next season.

Throughout this campaign, Liverpool’s right-hand side has proved to be an excellent source for creativity and goals, which in turn has helped The Reds to a 12 point gap above Arsenal in second place with nine games remaining.

However, if Liverpool were to tie down two of the three with less than six months on their contracts it could prove to be a major boost for in their hunt for the Premier League title, while easing plans of a complete rebuild come June.

Former Tottenham and Blackburn midfielder, Sherwood, believes that Salah and van Dijk will stay at the club, while the fans should not blame Alexander-Arnold for wanting to move to Real Madrid.

Salah and van Dijk set to stay at Liverpool

Sherwood on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday [1.53pm, Saturday 29 March] said: “I think Mo Salah stays if they give him the contract that he’s demanding, I don’t think he’s got Real Madrid there. I think Virgil and Mo Salah stay at the football club, I really do.

“Because Real Madrid come knocking and it’s that great white shirt. We’ve been players, we know what it’s like, it’s very difficult to turn down so good luck to him.

“I don’t think it’ll make a difference to Mo Salah’s decision, no.”

Alexander-Arnold’s departure could affect Salah’s form

Football Insider verdict

Despite being 32-years-old, Salah is having his best season in a Liverpool shirt with 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 Premier League games.

While Alexander-Arnold’s defensive contributions often come under question, much of Salah’s form can be put down to not only the understanding between the pair, but the creativity the right-back provides from deep.

In an almost quarterback-like role, there are few better than Alexander-Arnold on the ball, which has only been highlighted further since Slot‘s decision to tuck him into midfield while in possession.

Throughout this season, the 26-year-old has provided six assists in 27 matches, averaging 0.26 assists per 90 minutes.

Not only this, but his expected assists (xA) stand at 7.30, with a per 90 minutes rate of 0.33, which is enough to place Alexander-Arnold in the 95th percentile among Premier League players.

Without these type of numbers behind Salah, it would be hard to believe it would not only affect his productivity, but all the forward players.

As it stands, this will be a problem Slot will need to address in the short-term, with Alexander-Arnold currently injured and potentially in the long-term if he is to lose the right-back permanently in the summer.

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