Liverpool legend Alan Kennedy has been speaking about his former club and the contract situations of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah
Top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League group stage and through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, it’s safe to say Liverpool’s start to the season could not have gone much better. But there is one cloud on the horizon.
As in six weeks’ time three of their most important players will be able to speak to overseas club about free transfers move next summer.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold and leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah will enter the final six months of their Liverpool contracts on January 1. While talks are taking place behind the scenes, no resolution has been forthcoming.
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And while the uncertainty is in no way impacting performances on the pitch – the Reds under new head coach Arne Slot have won 15 of their 17 matches in all competitions this season – then the question marks over who could sign new deals and stay and could who walk away for nothing remains.
For Alan Kennedy, the Liverpool legend who won five league titles, four League Cups and two European Cups during his glittering 359-game Anfield career, the answer is simple.
“It’s really important to keep them all,” said the 70-year-old to SportsBoom. “You’ve got to have the best players out there, that’s what made Liverpool the top, top team in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
“I’ve always said you have to have leaders in teams – and I think all three of them have grown into leaders.
“Just look at Mo Salah, he’s been prolific. He’s one of these players that will have lots of offers throughout his career because he’s such a talent.
“You’re going to pay money to see him play, but I just feel like he keeps making the right decisions. It’s all about the way you’re playing and getting results – and that’s something he’s very good at.
“If there’s a goal to get, he’ll be in there fighting for it. But for me he also does his job helping Trent Alexander-Arnold, he helps him on the right-hand side.
“I think it’s working well with the players, there’s no egos for me.”
Jurgen Klopp brought the glory days back to Liverpool by constructing teams that ranked alongside the great ones from the 1970s and 1980s, many of which Kennedy was a key part of.
And it appears that Slot could well lead the Reds to further silverware in his first season in charge after making the transition from the legendary Klopp look seamless so far.
Kennedy, who scored the winner in the 1981 European Cup final against Real Madrid and the decisive penalty in the shoot-out victory over Roma in the 1984 showpiece, is impressed.
“They look like they’ve been together for years,” he said. “It’s looking very good for this season. I do enjoy watching them, they’ve certainly developed into a team that is full of confidence. They certainly know how to play.
“Whether that’s coming from the manager or the players themselves, I just think they’ve absolutely terrific this season. A lot of the fans are very, very happy with the way they’re playing.
“And it’s not just about one particular player, they look a confident team who have been put together.
“Of course there will be slip-ups along the way, there always is, but I just think they’re good enough to win just about every game – and I bet they’re disappointed if they don’t.”
Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday with a trip to rock bottom Southampton. The Reds currently lead second-placed Manchester City by five points.
