Liverpool Legend Michael Owen gives shocking reason on the contract delay of Salah , Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil van Dijk

Michael Owen, to Genting Casino, on the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk:

“The contract situation at Liverpool is really interesting, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk all out of contract next summer.

“The problem for Liverpool is that it’s taking place for three of their best players at the same time. I think Liverpool will have a gauge on where things are going at the moment. If any of them had said categorically, I’m not signing a contract, I want out, then you might have seen something different in the summer. You might have seen one of them moving on, or you might still see something in the winter transfer window.

“It’d be virtually unthinkable for there have been no conversations at all between club and players. I just cannot see it. So they’ll have a handle on it. They’re not stupid.

“I’m sure they’ve got it under control. There might be an announcement in the next month, let’s say, that one of them has signed a new four-year deal and everybody was thinking, why were we all worried?

“There might be one of them being lined up to be sold on or to go out as a free, but whatever it is, they will have their plans in place. This has not just crept up on them in the last week at Liverpool.

“They will have plans in place and all it is is for the people like me to discuss what ought to happen, whether they should sign these players on, whether they should sell them and all the rest of it.

“A lot of that depends on who’s interested. For example with Mohamed Salah it’s going to be virtually impossible to replace him. But if someone from Saudi are going to offer a hundred million plus, then that might be a decision that Liverpool can’t turn down.

“On the flip side, Salah might have be in the last rungs of negotiation and they might be just adding one or two final touches to the contract and he’s going to sign a new four-year contract.

“These discussions will have been going on with all three players for a long time. But obviously we’ll discuss things like Jude Bellingham is good mates with Trent and the right back position at Real Madrid looks like it’s probably the next one to be strengthened.

“And who’s one of the best right backs in the world when teams have got the ball and when you’re in possession and all the rest of it, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“So obviously people then put two and two together and you can see why. But as I say, all these things will be happening behind the scenes and this is not something where they’ll just be deciding to have a conversation in a month or two’s time. There will have been conversations with all three players for a period of time now. Absolutely.”