Liverpool could have just been given unexpected advantage in contract talks with Van Dijk and Salah - opinion
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The October international break could end up being a pivotal moment in Liverpool’s season.
With the Reds sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, it has not been the ideal time to stop them in their tracks with a pause in play.
17 players headed off to link up with their countries, with Liverpool crossing their fingers that no fitness issues would be cropping up across the fortnight.
So far, the only potential injury worry has been Alexis Mac Allister. Mac Allister sat out of Argentina’s win over Venezuela on Thursday night, but Liverpool already knew the midfielder had an existing knock.
Instead, the Reds’ international break so far has actually been filled with good news. While it was not great to see the captain sent off for the Netherlands on Friday, it has now been confirmed that Virgil van Dijk is returning to Liverpool early.
On top of that reports that Mohamed Salah will be allowed to leave Egypt’s camp have now resulted in Salah being sent back to Anfield ahead of time, too. With both players unexpectedly due back on Merseyside in a period of quiet, Liverpool need to ramp up contract discussions.
Liverpool should hammer home contract advantage
There was recently said to have been some ‘massively encouraging’ news on the Liverpool contract front.
It seems that after so long of talks being pushed back, there are conversations happening between the club and the trio of Van Dijk, Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
But time is clearly running out to get things sorted. In such a busy and hectic calendar, Van Dijk and Salah coming back home ahead of schedule looks like a real opportunity for Liverpool to push on with talks without distraction.
Of course, it would be naïve to think that the players need to be present and on the ground for conversations to be ongoing. In this day and age, agents can handle matters from near enough anywhere in the world.
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But it can surely help to have the men themselves in the building to help thrash things out while the AXA Training Centre is relatively empty.
If there is to be no breakthrough before the rest of the Liverpool squad arrive over the next four or five days, then things will start to look even more ominous.
Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold are all likely to be away during the November international break and have games coming non-stop either side of that until January. Time is now really ticking on these deals and Liverpool have been handed a perfect opportunity to reclaim the initiative.
What about Trent Alexander-Arnold?
The three contract situations of Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold have all become inextricably linked. But the truth is that each player’s circumstance is very different.
While Van Dijk and Salah are most probably looking at the last big contract of their careers, Alexander-Arnold is barely even in his prime as a player.
Trent is being eyed by Real Madrid and it feels as though his contract is the most pressing out of the three.
So, while Liverpool have the chance to get around the table with their captain and star forward over the next couple of days, we’d suggest that talks with Alexander-Arnold’s agent will also be ongoing.
Updates need to start happening with these three over the coming weeks. If none arrive, things will start to look bleak. It’s time to ramp things up with Virgil and Mo as soon as they touch down.
