Exclusive Interview With Ex-Premier League Legend Chris Sutton Talking Salah Contract, Alexander-Arnold & More
Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are now free to explore moves away from the club ahead of the expiration of their respective contracts at the end of the current season.
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All three players have been offered new deals, however, there has been no breakthrough in negotiations yet. Saudi Arabia have long been linked with a move for Salah, while Paris Saint-Germain have also been touted as a potential destination for the 32-year-old.
Salah recently revealed that he is still "far away" from resolving his future at Liverpool while captain Van Dijk has already rejected the club's opening contract offer and confirmed in November that talks over extending his deal are ongoing.
Alexander-Arnold has attracted interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool rejected an approach from the La Liga giants to sign the full-back last week. Madrid are keen to make signings in the transfer window and continue to retain interest in the right-back.
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Speaking exclusively to LFC Transfer Room, courtesy of NewBettingOffers.co.uk, Chris Sutton weighed in on the contract situation of Salah, Alexander-Arnold, and Van Dijk.
Should Liverpool sell Trent Alexander-Arnold this January rather than lose him for free in the summer with Real Madrid keen on signing the right-back?
Chris Sutton: "Absolutely not. I understand the financial aspects, but Liverpool are top of the Champions League. They're top of the Premier League. And, you know, I think they've involved in every competition, and they need to keep the best players simple as that.
"Connor Bradley is a brilliant right back and you know, you could argue better defensively than Trent what Trent, you know has brought to the Liverpool team over the years. You know, he has such quality and such a great range, of passing. And I think this is pretty simple really.
"You know, it's about giving yourselves the best opportunity of winning trophies. And everybody knows if Trent stays at Liverpool, they have that, you know, that they have a much better opportunity than if he clears off to Real Madrid."
Could Alexander-Arnold's contract situation distract Arne Slot and Liverpool's title challenge?
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Chris Sutton: "Yeah. That’s a really interesting question actually. I think Liverpool fans had a banner out yesterday about the need to, you know, sort this whole situation out. I think the fact that they, you know, Liverpool are flying.
"They are top of the Premier League and, you know, top of the Champions League table. We're into January now where these players, could, you know can talk to other clubs and I think if Liverpool do have a big drop of it for people will certainly look at the situation and think well why on earth didn't we get Salah and Van Dijk and Trent Alexander Arnold's, contracts sorted. They're big key players.
"And I understand contract situations. You know, they can be intricate and they can be tricky and I get all of that but I think it's a surprise to a lot of people certainly that Liverpool are finding themselves in this position."
Mohamed Salah recently hinted that this could be his final season at Liverpool. If Salah departs, it begs the question - Where would he rank among the best players to have ever graced the Premier League?
Chris Sutton: Oh, it'd have to be up there. His numbers are just ridiculous. I mean, he's already a Premier League legend. He's yeah. I mean, every season, he doesn't miss many games. You know his goals, his assists, the way that he conditions himself, how fit he is, you know, he's over 30. Now this is the issue with the contract situation that clubs don't wanna give out long contracts to, you know to older players.
"But when you saw the game at Southampton when he whipped his top off, I mean, the guy is an absolute machine. You know, he's in unbelievable shape, isn't he? So, you know, he clearly looks after himself, the contract situation. You know, I mean, he brought up himself and he keeps saying, you know, we're nowhere near, nothing has changed.
"But that doesn't seem to have affected his, performance this season. He's been Liverpool's most important player. People can argue Van Dijk as well and, you know, I get that. But no he's been phenomenal and, yeah, I mean, he's certainly got his Premier League legend, state just already."
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With the possibility of Salah's departure, Liverpool must act swiftly to find a suitable replacement. Which player will be a perfect replacement for the 32-year-old if he leaves?
Chris Sutton: "You can't replace him. I mean, who is up there in that position? You'd say Bukayo Saka, but Arsenal got their own. They've got their own. So, I think he's a player you could compare Salah to in terms of quality. But Liverpool can't replace Salah.
"I think that they if you look at Liverpool's forward line and their ability to make changes and they have that strength-in-depth, you know, Luis Diaz, they have Gakpo, they have Jota, they have Nunez. But the one constant really, all the time and the one player you think Liverpool can't do without is Mo Salah. His consistency has been phenomenal.
"So there's nobody who could replace Salah like for like but, you know, Bukayo Saka is such a talented player, plays the same position. But, yeah, he would be the only one, but, you know, that's just not gonna happen, Arsenal won’t let him go to Liverpool."
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Can Liverpool win the quadruple in Arne Slot's first season in charge of the club?
Chris Sutton: "Premier League, you know, I'm not one of those who thinks it's theirs to lose because of the strength of the Premier League. They will have a blip at some stage. But I do think that Liverpool will win the Premier League. Champions League, Arne Slot will get through to the latter stages. That's a bit of a lottery, but, I think they'll be really difficult to win. So I'm gonna say no. Sorry, Liverpool. You won't win all trophies."
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LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli