Coach Arne Slot has been able to put the contract problems of key players aside since he took office at Anfield until now. But for now, the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold certainly need to be clarified.
The past week has been a real test for Liverpool fans. In general, since the beginning of the 2024-2025 season until now, The Kop has been the best team in the Premier League and is certainly much more interesting than expected.
Liverpool have Salah as the tournament's best striker and Van Dijk's solid defence. If there are no surprises, they will be crowned Premier League champions this year.
However, the evidence presented by being eliminated from the Champions League and losing in the Carabao Cup final shows that The Kop's squad is still not deep enough. They are still not capable of dominating many tournaments at the same time as Manchester City won the treble.
Slot has not struggled with injuries in his first season in England. Therefore, his ability to rotate the squad has not been accurately verified.
Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa have yet to start a single Premier League game this season. It is clear that Slot needs to plan a transfer for next season. And how much of a reorganization is going to depend on how the contract issues are handled. So far, Slot has almost overcome the rather unusual deadlock between the club and the three pillars of the team.
But the last two painful defeats will change that. With only the journey to the Premier League championship at the end, the thoughts will certainly move on to the next season.
After the disappointment at Wembley and the painful defeat to PSG, it will be a big boost for Liverpool fans if Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold soon extend their contracts. No one can doubt the commitment that these players have shown throughout the season. That is part of the reason Liverpool create a big gap with the teams chasing in the Premier League.
But with Salah having an ineffective performance like at Wembley, it is inevitable that there will be doubts about the impact of the contract situation. Liverpool have only 9 more matches left this season and it is still possible that these are also the last appearances of Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk in the Reds.
With the Premier League title in hand, now is the time for Liverpool fans to wait for good news from behind the scenes. That will be key in Slot's approach towards the 2025-2026 season.
