Liverpool have been warned they will have to move on from Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold sooner or later by Jamie Redknapp.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Salah, VVD and TAA all on expiring dealsNo progress over contract extensionsRedknapp gives insight into dressing room feelingFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold could all leave the Reds for free at the end of the season, with their respective contracts up in June. There has been little to no word on whether they will be offered fresh deals to stay at Anfield – Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with Real Madrid for some time, while skipper Van Dijk was spotted deep in conversation with Paris Saint-Germain officials after Tuesday's Champions League defeat.
AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The trio could leave Liverpool in a blaze of glory with the Reds on track to secure the Premier League title, only the club's second since the 1992 breakaway from the Football League. According to former midfielder Redknapp, Liverpool will soldier on without their best players regardless of when they leave for pastures new, while those in the dressing room won't let it become a distraction.
WHAT REDKNAPP SAID
Redknapp, who will be part of the Sky Sports team for the Carabao Cup Final live on Sunday from 3pm, told GOAL: "Of course you're going to want them to stay, of course you'd want Virgil to stay three or four more years, of course you'd want Salah to stay. But one day they [Liverpool] are going to have to deal without them anyway. They had to deal without Ian Rush, without Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen and Luis Suarez. Players come and go, and Liverpool will survive whatever happens without all of these players. Then it's a case of what recruitment will be like and how can they find the next ones.
"It won't be easy, but I think in terms of the players it won't be spoken about too often, there'll be the odd joke here or there. But most of the time, every game now there's so much going on, big games left, right and centre, titles to wrap up, I think the players will be taking care of business."
Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?
Redknapp is able to speak from a position of familiarity having seen close friend Steve McManaman run down his contract and leave for Real Madrid for free while they were team-mates at Liverpool in the nineties.
The former midfielder reflected: "People have changed since my era, but I remember being in a dressing room with Steve McManaman when he was a Bosman, one of the first real high-profile Bosmans at the time. I remember him telling me, 'look I'm going to go to Real Madrid'. Obviously I was disappointed because I was such a big fan of Steve's, he was one of my best friends but also a phenomenal player. But I was also like 'mate, good luck to you if that's what you want to do'. You don't begrudge someone for going to Real Madrid. If he said he was going to Manchester United or Chelsea, that's different, but he was going to Real Madrid. I think with players now, everyone will respect what they want to do."
