Liverpool Keeping Close Eye On Arsenal And Newcastle United Target As Possible Mohamed Salah Replacement
Liverpool are striving under Arne Slot this season as they lead both the Premier League and Champions League standings, however, the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold continue to dominate the headlines.
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All three players are out of contracts at the end of the season and can now open talks with interested parties from outside of England over potential pre-contract agreements. The Reds have offered all of them new deals but there is still no breakthrough in negotiations.
Salah and Van Dijk are reportedly likely to 'end up' signing new Liverpool contracts while Alexander-Arnold could leave in the summer with Real Madrid showing keen interest in the right-back.
Liverpool rejected Madrid's bid for the England international on Tuesday as the Reds have no interest in losing the player while fighting on all fronts and are strong favourites to win their 20th league title.
Arne Slot recently disclosed that he“cannot control” the private lives of Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold.
“I think I have a lot of control over what they do if they’re on the training pitch, if there in a meeting with me,” said Slot. “But talking about their private lives, I don’t have control.
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“That’s been the situation as a long as I’ve been a manager but I have control to an extent (in terms of) what I expect from them on the pitch. It’s really pleasing to see what Virgil brings, what Trent brings and what Mo brings.”
Salah, who has been in fine form for Liverpool was on target once again as the Reds thrashed West Ham 5-0 to open up an eight lead at the summit of the league table. After the game, he was asked by Sky Sports whether he expected good news for supporters soon, Salah said: “No, we are far away from that.
“I don’t want to put something in the media and people start saying stuff, but nothing really moved on. But now I’m focused on the team, hopefully we win the Premier League.”
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Despite talks with Salah's representatives ongoing, Liverpool have set sights on other targets. According to Het Belang van Limburg, the Meyersiders are keeping an eye on PSV Eindhoven’s Johan Bakayoko. Newcastle United and Arsenal are also said to be monitoring the forward.
Bakayoko has struggled to hit the heights of the last season, having scored six goals and provided three assists in 21 appearances for PSV in all competitions this campaign. However, the Premier League clubs continue to keep tabs on his progress closely.
The Belgium forward's contract expires in the summer of 2026.
READ MORE: Real Madrid Remain 'Fully Focused' On Trent Alexander-Arnold's Deal As Formal Talks Expected In January
LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli