A former Premier League star has dismissed suggestions that Liverpool are to blame for the ongoing contract situation regarding three of their key players. Reds trio Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract in the summer, with talks over fresh terms reaching an impasse.
Alexander-Arnold is reported to be leaning towards a move to Real Madrid while Salah’s future remains unclear. Liverpool have been offered at least one glimmer of hope, though, as Van Dijk revealed on Sunday that there has been “progress” on his contract negotiations.
The Reds’ hierarchy has been criticised in some quarters for allowing the stand-off with the trio to continue for so long. However, ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster claims there’s no chance the club didn’t try and tie them down to new deals far in advance of their contracts ending. Foster, who also played for England and Wrexham, went further by saying the players would be “lying” if they suggested otherwise.
Speaking on his Fozcast podcast, the 42-year-old said: “A lot of Liverpool fans have said [to the club], ‘How have you managed to let Trent Alexander Arnold get down to the last few months?’ Nobody knows what conversations were going on.
“I guarantee you, with all of the players that have been out of contract, with two years to go, the club have approached them and said, ‘Let’s get a new contract sorted’. If any of those three players come out and say they didn’t, they are lying.”
Van Dijk has offered the clearest sign that he will sign a new deal and commit his future to Anfield beyond this summer. The Reds captain, who turns 34 in July, is said to want a two-year extension, with Liverpool keen to agree terms with him.
In a post-match chat following his team’s 3-2 loss at Fulham, Van Dijk said: “There is progress, yeah. I don’t know, we’ll see. Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see.
“I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again and we wanted to reward them at Fulham. But I want them to be there against West Ham on Sunday again and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”
The update will be music to the ears of Liverpool boss Arne Slot ahead of the Premier League run-in as they chase down a record-equalling 20th title. However, although a formal decision is yet to be communicated, there is increasing speculation that Alexander-Arnold will move to Spain after Real Madrid stepped up their efforts to sign him during the international break.
The reports have sparked anger among Liverpool fans, who are unhappy at the prospect of losing the right-back. But Foster said supporters need to examine the situation from the 26-year-old’s side of the fence.
He said: “Look at it from Trent’s perspective – he’s going to go and join a football club that he knows every year, without doubt, will be in the top two in Spain and will at least be in the quarter-finals or semi-finals of the Champions League.
“That Real Madrid team is probably the best team in the world right now. They’ve got a young team that you would like to think will flourish for the next five or ten years. He’s going to be joining a club that will be winning things, but then you’ve got to look at the financials involved as well.”
He added: “If he joins Real Madrid, he’s going on a free transfer and he’ll be able to get a signing-on fee, which will be astronomical. You’re talking in excess of £50million, plus £220,000 a week in wages. That sort of money is phenomenal.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool are hopeful of reaching a resolution with Salah that would see the forward extend his eight-year stay at Anfield. The Egyptian has scored 32 goals, in all competitions, this season for the Reds – including 27 in the Premier League.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
