'I think': Mark Lawrenson says whose contract is more important for Liverpool...Mo Salah or Virgil van Dijk

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Liverpool are walking a tightrope when it comes to some of their key players and their contracts and Mark Lawrenson has told the club just who should be the big priority right now.

The Reds are going into 2025 with a big decision to make when it comes to the futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Mohamed Salah.

All three will see their contracts expire in the summer and with Jude Bellingham apparently trying to woo Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, the pressure is on for FSG.

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As we know, Mo Salah has come relatively close to moving to Saudi Arabia, while the future of Van Dijk remains shrouded in mystery.

However, of those three players, former Reds defender Mark Lawrenson has suggested that it’s actually the future of Van Dijk which needs resolving first.

Liverpool told to sort out Virgil van Dijk’s contract ahead of Salah and Trent

Speaking on TalkSPORT about the issues Liverpool face with the contracts of key players, Lawrenson had his say on proceedings.

And in doing so, ‘Lawro’ picked out Dutchman Van Dijk as the number one priority for Liverpool in terms of those expiring contracts.

"I think the first one you have got to get signed up is Virgil van Dijk because obviously he is the heartbeat of the team,” Lawrenson said.

“He is the captain, he is the organiser, all those kinds of things."

Van Dijk is vital but arguments can be made for the other two

Lawrenson is right in that Virgil van Dijk is the leader of this Liverpool team and in an ideal world, he would have been sorted by now.

However, you can argue that Mo Salah’s goals and assists are just as important – if not more – while with Trent Alexander-Arnold, he is effectively the now and the future of the football club.

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Those who frequent Anfield will hope all three are tied down to fresh terms and this can be put behind the club quickly.

But right now, it does look like Liverpool might end up losing at least one key player and if it’s to be Van Dijk, then that leaves a gaping hole to fill in the centre of the defence.

The clock, then, is very much ticking for FSG here.