I can't be bothered with Liverpool contract question yet as next Arne Slot priority clear

Liverpool returns to Premier League action this weekend, with Arne Slot taking on Chelsea. We asked Liverpool fan Nick Sapia from LFC Boston a few questions about the Reds ahead of the game,

The international break is slowly coming to an end. How excited are you for the proper stuff to return?

Yes, definitely excited. Two international breaks by this point in the season feel incredibly unnecessary. You also have to contend with all the rampant speculation that fills the space during the international break, and there's a ton of that around Liverpool right now with the contract situations. I'm looking forward to football again because this team has been fun to watch this season.

Liverpool looked disjointed and flat against Nottingham Forest after the last international break but then reeled off six consecutive wins in all competitions. That momentum has now been interrupted, and they'll need to find it quickly in a week when they play Chelsea and away to Arsenal, with a midweek Champions League match.

I feel for the players — they are playing too much football, and these international breaks are brutal. The governing bodies need to sort the calendar in a way that gives the players a big share of the voice.

Chelsea comes to Liverpool at the weekend. How much of a chance will that be for Arne Slot's side to set down a marker in the Premier League?

Chelsea at Anfield was the best performance of the season last year and, as Arne Slot will happily remind you, this will be the first time Liverpool have played a truly good side in the league. Liverpool, Manchester City , and Arsenal have separated themselves as the three best sides in the country, but Chelsea is the best of the rest, despite how poorly they're run.

I think they were probably the fourth-best last year, too, though they were a bit unlucky. Beating an ascendant Chelsea in Liverpool's first true test of the season would certainly lay down a marker. Anfield will be up for it, and the Reds will deliver a strong performance.

There is a big run of matches coming up. What are your expectations between now and the next international break?

If I'm thinking about goals for the squad for these upcoming six matches across the next 21 days, I'd lay them out like this:

First, stay in the top two in the league. It's pretty wild that Liverpool will play four of the current top six in this upcoming block, but three of those are at Anfield where Liverpool should be expected to win. Arsenal is still shorthanded, and Liverpool can go to London and battle to a point, at worst, to keep the Gunners at bay for now. If the Reds can pull this off, it will be a massive statement and should give the team confidence that they can win big trophies this year.

The two Champions League fixtures are tricky — away to the joint league leaders in Germany and home to the reigning Bundesliga champion. Still, those fixtures seem manageable, even with some necessary squad rotation. Liverpool have bought themselves some wiggle room with a good start in the League phase of the competition, and another four points would be a good result.

The League Cup fixture at Brighton feels like a free hit — get a changed side in there and see how they get on. I'm not saying Liverpool should throw it, but it's by far the least important match in this stretch.

We've spoken loads of times about Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk's contract situations. With no news yet, at what point would you become worried about losing any of them for nothing?

This sounds odd, but I can't be bothered with it right now — it's completely out of our hands. It would obviously sting to lose any of them for free, as they're each some of the biggest contributors to the team's strong performance at this point. Of course, I want them all to continue in Red for the remainder of their careers.

Still, I'm trying to tune out all of the speculation that inevitably fills the void — unfortunately, it comes up in every press conference that Arne Slot does. I don't want it to detract from the enjoyment of watching this team. Ultimately, we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. The only people who really know anything are Salah, Van Djik, and Trent, plus a handful of people at the club — and none of those people are speaking publicly about it.