The start of the January transfer window means Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are free to explore moves away from the club ahead of the expiry of their respective contracts in the summer.
As long as they are at least 23 years old, footballers with six months or less remaining on their contracts are able to negotiate with non-English clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement that would see them join a new team one day after the expiry of their deal.
Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool contracts are all set to end on the last official day of the 2024-25 season, which falls on June 30.
Teams in Saudi Arabia have long been linked with a move for Salah, while sources have told ESPN that Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been in contact with the Egypt international’s agent Ramy Abbas regarding the 32-year-old’s future.
Salah said he is still “far away” from resolving his future at Liverpool after scoring once and creating two more goals in a 5-0 win at West Ham United on Dec. 29.
Liverpool captain Van Dijk, 33, has rejected the club’s opening contract offer and confirmed in November that talks over extending his deal are ongoing.
Alexander-Arnold, 26, has attracted interest from Real Madrid and sources have told ESPN that Liverpool rejected an approach from the Spanish giants to sign the full-back on Tuesday.
Madrid are keen to make signings in the January transfer window and continue to retain interest in the right-back as their preferred option to address their defensive issues.
The trio played key roles in Liverpool’s Premier League title-winning in campaign in 2019-20 and their Champions League triumph in 2019. They have also won the FA Cup (2022), Carabao Cup (2022, 2024), UEFA Super Cup (2019) and Club World Cup (2019) during their time at Anfield.
Liverpool begin 2025 with an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, having earned 45 points from their first 18 games. Slot’s team host Manchester United in their next fixture on Jan. 5.
