Contract talk has been dominating the conversation around Liverpool ever since the weekend.
Mohamed Salah’s explosive comments on his future beyond this season have well and truly set the cat amongst the pigeons.But while Salah’s remarks have divided opinion amongst the wider world – as well as Liverpool fans themselves – the owners of the football club are seemingly hard at work behind the scenes.
It has been claimed that Liverpool insiders have a new theory over the contracts, which would see two of Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk tied down first to put pressure on the final deal getting done.But the headline trio are not the only members of the Liverpool squad who are on the lookout for contract extensions.Negotiations with both Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz have been reported to be underway.
With no update being provided for some time, journalist Graeme Bailey has explained what’s going on with this top performing pair.Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz happy to wait Plainly, clearing up the future’s of their three big stars is the most pressing situation for the Liverpool owners right now.
But it also cannot be ignored that Konate’s deal only has one further year to run. The centre-back has been excellent this season and he should be extended as a matter of urgency, too.
As for Diaz, he is still on the contract he signed when joining three years ago and has earned himself a bump.Happily, it sounds as though Liverpool are on it with both of them. Speaking exclusively to Rousing The Kop, Bailey reports that agreements with both Konate and Diaz are not far away.
Konate and Diaz have been told they’re getting dealt in, they’re happy,” says the journalist.“So, I think those two are going to get sorted. I don’t think either are a million miles away to be fair, there are no massive issues.“It wouldn’t shock me if it was before Christmas but after January might be a bit more realistic.
Liverpool set to avoid repeat of contract turmoilContract negotiations in football can obviously be done at any time during the year. There is generally no great rush if a player has three or more years to run.
However, the situations regarding Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold should have given Liverpool plenty of pause for thought about the future.
And according to Bailey, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG’s CEO of football Michael Edwards will not allow a repeat of what has happened this season.
Edwards and Hughes will not allow this situation to happen in the future, three star players all out of contract,” he says.“During the next ten years this will not happen again. Michael Edwards will not let this happen again.”Sorting out Konate and Diaz would be a good starting step to ensuring that.
