James Pearce has emphatically dismissed one theory which has been mooted regarding the contract situations of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Similar to Trent Alexander-Arnold, the duo have just three months left on their current deals at Anfield. However, while the vice-captain appears to be closing in on a move to Real Madrid, there remains hope among LFC fans that the other two players will commit to the Reds for at least another season (maybe more).
In January, Robbie Fowler suggested that two of the aforementioned trio have already agreed new contracts and that the club were simply refraining from announcing it so as not to put undue scrutiny on the other player.
Pearce insists Liverpool haven’t secretly agreed new contracts
Pearce has now bluntly rejected such an idea, insisting that if Salah and/or Van Dijk had come to an agreement, Liverpool would waste no time whatsoever in communicating it to the public.
The Athletic journalist told the Walk On podcast: “This school of thought that Van Dijk and Salah’s new deals are all done and dusted and just tucked in a drawer away somewhere because they didn’t want to put pressure on Trent, is just numerous people who would know, have told me that that is absolute nonsense.
“I think it’s fair to say that if there had been a positive resolution, we would know about it because they’d be shouting it from the rooftops.”
Tick tock, FSG…
With Pearce stating unequivocally that Liverpool would’ve announced new contracts for Salah and Van Dijk by now if they’d been agreed, it very much appears as though neither of the duo has yet committed to the club beyond the end of this season.
Now that Trent seems irrevocably lost to Real Madrid, the pressure on the Anfield hierarchy to strike new deals for the Reds’ top scorer and captain has intensified even further. Losing our gifted right-back on a free transfer is bad enough; seeing all three walk out the door for nothing would be catastrophic.
The hope for LFC fans is that, while the England international is set to join the European champions in the prime of his playing days, the Egyptian forward and Dutch centre-back are at a rather different phase of their respective careers and may be content to stay on Merseyside for another while.
They’ve both been performing at world-class levels this season, so any fears that the duo may start to decline as they approach their mid-30s seem unfounded. They both look as though they could play at the highest level of football for another five years.
Having lost their last two games and been left reeling from the news of Trent’s impending exit, now would be the perfect time for Liverpool to announce new contracts for Salah and Van Dijk if indeed they’ve come to an agreement.
Imagine the lift that would give to the fan base going into the run-in to a season which looks set to end with Premier League title glory!
