'NUMBERS MADE SENSE FOR LIVERPOOL'

First Mohamed Salah, now Virgil van Dijk.

It is big news for the club and the Premier League that one of the division's most iconic players is staying put.

For so long, there has been huge uncertainty over the futures of Salah and Van Dijk at Liverpool, given their previous contracts were set to expire at the end of the season.

The perspective is far rosier now, although the future of remaining out-of-contract star Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has held talks with Real Madrid, remains hugely uncertain.

In the end, the numbers made sense for Liverpool. Replacing Salah and Van Dijk like for like would probably cost towards £200m in transfer fees, let alone wages. Identifying those players would have been a risky task.

Both players are in their mid-30s, but neither has shown signs of slowing down, so keeping them - on similar salaries to what they were on previously - appears the most economical decision, particularly when you look at their performances this season.

Van Dijk staying will lessen the necessity for Liverpool to sign a new central defender this summer, although strengthening in that area of the field is likely to depend on how talks develop with Ibrahima Konate over a new deal.

The France international is entering the final 12 months of his contract and is yet to reach an agreement over an extension.

Among the centre-backs Liverpool have watched are Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen and Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi.

If an agreement with Konate is not reached, then Liverpool may have to make a decision over his future this summer in order to avoid the prospect of the central defender leaving on a free transfer in 2026.

2025-04-17T15:34:40Z