'From what I hear' - Don Hutchinson makes Mo Salah contract admission and Saudi Arabia claim

Anfield trio Salah, van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold all see their respective deals expire at the end of the season. The triumvirate are arguably Liverpool’s most important players but are at different stages of their careers.

Salah and van Dijk are aged 32 and 33 but have displayed so far this term that they still have several years operating at the top level. Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold is only entering his peak at 25. He has been linked with a potential free transfer to Real Madrid to replace Dani Carvajal.

Salah has previously been courted by the riches of Saudi Arabia, with the Reds turning down a £510m offer in August 2023. He confessed after the 3-0 win over Manchester United earlier this month that no-one at the club had spoken to him about extending his stay. Meanwhile, head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes have insisted that all contract talks remain private.

Hutchinson, who played for Liverpool between 1991-1994, reckons Salah’s obsession to continue to break records at Anfield is why he may be easy to tie down to fresh terms - and then the other heavyweight pair will do the same. He said: “My worry when it comes to Trent - because he’s a young player and is going to attract the likes of Real Madrid when Carvajal finishes - that would be in the back of my mind.

“In terms of what Trent does, I think he'll stay and will end up having the captain's armband because he's a Liverpool boy. My worry is when you get linked with big clubs, it starts to affect your performance. Even though he'll say he might not think of it, when you get asked the question, you are thinking of it.

“The easiest one that will set the tone is Mo Salah. He can wait for Saudi. Saudi will still be there in two years’ time. He will go down as one of the best African footballers the Premier League has ever seen.

“From what I hear, I was speaking to Jason McAteer the other day and he said Salah is massively interested in breaking numbers. He wants to break Rushy's record and is really interested in leaving a proper legacy. If you get Salah done, I'm pretty sure Virgil will fall into a new two-year deal and then I'm pretty sure Trent will do the same. It's trying to get the pecking order at who you go at first to set the tone for the other two.”