‘Carelessness’ – Journalist warns Liverpool over ‘destabilising’ situation facing the club
Liverpool have been accused of ‘carelessness’ over one situation at Anfield which threatens to have a ‘destabilising’ effect on the club.
The Reds’ skipper Virgil van Dijk, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold and most potential goal threat Mo Salah are all into the final 10 months of their respective contracts, with anxiety rife among Reds fans about the future of that crucial trio.
In his latest piece for The Guardian, Jonathan Wilson said that while large-scale upheaval behind the scenes in L4 has been a contributing factor, it’s still alarming that three of the squad’s most crucial players are this deep into their current deals with no discernible sign of a resolution.
Follow Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE
The journalist wrote: “To have one key player in the final year of his contract is happenstance. To have two key players in the final year of their contracts is coincidence. To have three key players in the final year of their contracts begins to look a little like carelessness.
“The contracts of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all expire next summer, and that creates uncertainty, not only for those players concerned but for Liverpool as a whole.”
Wilson added: “Individually, none of the three cases is particularly remarkable or troubling. But en masse, to have three such celebrated players potentially leaving the club next summer is destabilising.
“Almost certainly it’s a short-term problem caused by the shuffle of backroom staff and a reluctance to commit large sums until a degree of stability is achieved. But the sooner some resolution is found, the sooner the background anxiety will fade away.”
READ MORE: Andy Robertson says Liverpool have a ‘big-game player’ who’s getting better all the time
Wilson has captured the mood among much of the Liverpool fan base in that article, and after a transfer window which saw few incomings and plenty of exits, the ongoing three-pronged contract saga has added to supporters’ concerns over the strategy at boardroom level.
For even one of Trent, Salah or Van Dijk to be this close to becoming a free agent would have supporters twitching. To have all three of them in the final year of their respective deals is detrimental to achieving a healthy blood pressure.
Even allowing for the latter two being 33 and 34 next summer respectively, and the club having an understandable unwritten policy of not offering long-term renewals to players in their 30s, the standards that the Egyptian and Dutchman have reached would justify an exception being made in their cases.
As for our number 66, it’d be a damning reflecition on Liverpool if a player in the prime of his career, especially one of his ability who’s also a Scouser born and bred, walks away on a free transfer in 2025 because his contract was left to run its course without being addressed by the hierarchy.
Now that the transfer market has closed until January, Richard Hughes must surely focus his attention on convincing Trent, Salah and Van Dijk to sign new deals, so that we can all finally relax about three of the most crucial figures in Arne Slot’s squad.
EOTK Close-up with John Welsh: ‘a local lad who lived his dream’ and Slot’s LFC predictions
The post ‘Carelessness’ – Journalist warns Liverpool over ‘destabilising’ situation facing the club appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.