'Mohamed Salah causes Virgil van Dijk contract delay at Liverpool'

03/28/2025 09:53 AM

Mohamed Salah may be contributing to a delay in Virgil van Dijk signing a new contract at Liverpool, it has been suggested by Troy Deeney.

New contracts for the pair are undoubtedly a priority for the club, especially with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid now expected.

Salah and Van Dijk have both enjoyed outstanding seasons, proving key to the Reds’ establishing a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

However, concern about the fact that they are still yet to commit to new deals continues to linger over Liverpool, and an explanation to why that might be the case has now been offered.

‘Virgil van Dijk watching Mo Salah negotiations closely’

Some have recently predicted that both Salah and Van Dijk will sign new contracts with Liverpool, although neither has done so as yet.

However, it has been claimed that the club are now confident of agreeing a deal with Salah despite interest from elsewhere (talkSPORT).

Deeney has now suggested that Van Dijk will be waiting until after his teammate has signed a new contract, before agrees to one of his own.

That he feels, is due to the fact that the Dutch centre-back will want to ensure he is aware of the scope for wages that are available, to push for somewhere in the same region.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Deeney was asked if Salah has played his hand “brilliantly” over his contract situation with Liverpool.

In response, the former Watford and Birmingham striker said: “Oh absolutely, he’s gone out and had arguably the best season of his career, showed his availability.

“I don’t remember Mo Salah being injured ever in his time at Liverpool, he’s always fit, always available, and I think just to caveat your question, I think Virgil’s done exactly the same. Because you don’t want to sign before Mo Salah, because you want to know where the ceiling is.

“So if Mo Salah signs, I don’t know, makeup a number, half a million a week let’s say, well you don’t want to have signed for 150 a couple of months before. You want to see where that is and try and get yourself in and around that.”

Liverpool under pressure over contract negotiations

Football Insider Verdict

With Alexander-Arnold seemingly on his way out, it would be a major blow for Liverpool to lose Salah and Van Dijk on free transfers as well.

The club must therefore do everything they can to secure the futures of the two players who are arguably more important than anyone else in their squads.

It would take a huge amount of gloss off this season’s success if they lost all of the trio for nothing, while also leaving them with a massive job in the transfer window.

For Van Dijk though, it makes sense that he will want somewhere near the same contract as Salah at Liverpool, given he will feel he is just as important to the club.

However, there are financial limits on every team, and so those at Anfield may find it hard to afford to pay both players the same amount, if it does indeed take a major figure for them to stay.

Consequently, these contract negotiations for Liverpool may continue to remain difficult and drawn out, as they look work out a solution that suits all involved.

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