Liverpool’s 2024-25 season has been one to remember for the Kop, looking set to lift their 20th league title. However, fans have still been riddled with the club’s contract situation, with three stars’ contracts expiring in June 2025. At last, this situation looks to be somewhat settled, with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk both inking two-year extensions to their current contracts.
The good news began on April 10, announcing Salah’s extension with the caption “More in than out.” This alludes to an earlier quote after an away win at Manchester United, where he told the press that he was “more out than in” regarding his stay at the Merseyside club. The festivities continued a mere seven days later, announcing captain van Dijk’s extension, saying, “It was always Liverpool.” The third player, English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, is currently ready to depart his boyhood club for Spanish giants Real Madrid. While there is no official confirmation of this transfer yet, reliable sources, including writer Fabrizio Romano, state that the transfer is in its final stages.
All three are coming off stellar seasons with crucial involvements in the upcoming league title, most notably Salah, who is currently leading the league in both goals and assists. As Liverpool’s future at the top looks closer to being secure, the job is certainly far from finished. Liverpool’s poor performance in the Champions League knockouts, the Football Association Challenge Cup and the English Football League Cup (also known as the Carabao Cup) is surely a cause for concern. Liverpool looks to strengthen a non-clinical attack, a tired midfield and a blunder-prone defense. Alexander-Arnold’s exit will certainly be a huge blow to Liverpool’s ability to challenge for titles next year. While he does play in a defensive position at right-back, he is arguably most important to Liverpool’s offensive creativity, holding the record for most assists as a Premier League defender in history.
That being said, one can argue he is also a defensive liability as he doesn’t track back enough, which leads to goals conceded. Liverpool also employs the young Northern Irishman Conor Bradley, who has performed strongly at the position but has also proven to be injury-prone. Moreover, with van Dijk’s extension, he could also use more depth in terms of a partner, as Ibrahima Konaté is known to pick up injuries or go on a bad run of form occasionally. The left-back position can also be improved with Scottish legend Andrew Robertson’s form fading over the last few years. Nevertheless, Liverpool certainly needs to bring in defensive reinforcements this summer.
In Jürgen Klopp’s final season as manager, he signed midfielders Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endō, who have all proven to be instrumental to Liverpool’s title win. The first three have tended to be in the starting lineup, whereas Endō is developing a “cult legend” status through his high-energy performances, being substituted on in the dying minutes of the game. However, as the season has progressed, players such as Szoboszlai and Gravenberch have been regressing in terms of performance, and it can be inferred that the lack of midfield rotation is a key factor in the recent lackluster performances. Liverpool does actually have good depth in the midfield with Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Endō, but manager Arne Slot does not seem to believe they can start games. They could probably bring in another midfielder or two this summer, but one can say that a future Liverpool legend is not on the transfer market but is currently sitting on the bench.
Finally, in terms of attack, Salah’s extension is integral to the club’s success, but the other two spots in the front three often tend to underperform. On paper, they’re brilliant, with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa. That being said, Núñez looks set to depart the club, whereas Gakpo, Diaz and Jota are on a run of underwhelming games, and Chiesa isn’t trusted enough by Slot to get minutes. Therefore, the most essential position Liverpool needs to improve is the striker position, so Salah’s playmaking and creativity don’t go to waste. Jota is certainly not good enough to start for the club in 2025, and links to Julián Álvarez and Alexander Isak seem too good to pass up.
Overall, the extensions on the van Dijk and Salah contracts are music to the ears of any Scouser. However, despite the upcoming league title, Liverpool has a lot to improve on if it plans to contend for more titles in the following seasons. Nevertheless, the two positions that are cemented for the next two years (at least) are the right-wing and center-back spots.
