Liverpool: Alexander-Arnold to join ‘best mate’ at Real Madrid as Reds keep Salah, Van Dijk

Jason McAteer is baffled that Liverpool have allowed Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to run down their contracts.

All three Liverpool stars are out of contract in 2025 , with none of the crucial trio close to agreeing a new deal.

It would be catastrophic if the Reds lose them all at the end of the season and the lack of negotiations over an extension is alarming.

Salah has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia on a free transfer but those rumours have significantly died down.

Al Ittihad reportedly made a huge offer worth over £100million for the Egyptian last summer but Liverpool rejected their advances due to the timing of the bid, which came late on in the window.

This sparked fear among the Reds fan base that the Saudi Pro League side would come back in for Salah in the 2024 summer transfer window, but that did not happen.

Van Dijk, meanwhile, is not being linked with a move away despite his contract situation, and Alexander-Arnold is reportedly a top target for Real Madrid .

The European champions are seeking a long-term replacement for Dani Carvajal and are very keen on signing Trent on a free transfer.

Carvajal recently suffered a serious knee injury, which could see Madrid accelerate their pursuit of the England international.

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Former Liverpool player McAteer has predicted that Alexander-Arnold will join his ‘best mate’ Jude Bellingham in the Spanish capital, with Salah and Van Dijk expected to stay at Anfield.

“They will be working behind the scenes with a strategy and a plan,” he said. “In an ideal world they will want to keep all three. Whether they keep all three is another question.

“Will FSG facilitate keeping them all, I’m not sure, because of the expenditure. The landscape of football has changed again.

“Carvajal has just picked up an ACL. He’s 32. Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of his best mates is Jude Bellingham. He’s won everything at Liverpool. He’s at that age where he can go and test the water elsewhere.

“We know there’s only one club you leave Liverpool for, as a Liverpool fan and as a Liverpool player, it’s Real Madrid. You’d be stupid to think they wouldn’t want him.

“I think personally Trent will go, Salah will stay, and Virgil van Dijk will sign a short-term contract. That’s what I think will happen.”

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McAteer adds that he can’t understand how Liverpool are in a situation where all three players can negotiate a pre-contract with foreign clubs 11 weeks from now.

“It’s the question everyone’s talking about, isn’t it? It’s a really difficult one,” he said.

“It’s a world of sporting directors right now. We know Liverpool only employed Michael Edwards towards the back end of last season, so he wouldn’t have been involved in that. Obviously, Richard Hughes has just come in at the beginning of this season.

“I’ve no idea how three players of the stature and quality of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been able to run their contracts down.

“The flipside of the argument is that the club can’t do anything about it if the players want to do that. I’m not really buying into that.

“I’m not really buying into that because of the stature of the players and the stature of the football club.

“If Liverpool were to lose all three, it would rock the boat. It would put a massive hole in that ship. I don’t know how it’s been left where that is a possibility.”