It’s all gone quiet on the contract front since Liverpool spent the summer tying down a plethora of players to new, improved long-term deals.
Alisson, Fabinho, Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott, Caoimhin Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams all penned fresh terms at Anfield, committing their future to the club long after Jurgen Klopp ’s own 2024 contract expiry.
Understandably Mohamed Salah ’s own contract has dominated the back-pages and supporter discussion ever since with fans desperate to see the Reds secure the future of the Egyptian King.
The forward’s contract expires in the summer of 2023, meaning in 14 months he will be free to talk to overseas club about moving on on a free transfer if Liverpool haven’t nailed down his signature.
Retaining Salah’s services are inevitably the Reds’ priority, with speculation over his wage demands continuing to cause anxious minds at a time when the 29-year-old is in the form of his career and the best player on the planet.
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Almost certain to become the best paid player in the club’s history if he stays at Anfield, reports have claimed he wants a wage which would see him become one of the highest earners in the Premier League, and while his status is befitting of such a salary, its placing in FSG’s salary structure is a rather bigger obstacle to overcome.
But the Egypt captain isn’t the only player whose Liverpool future is currently uncertain amid an expiring contract.
James Milner, Adrian and Loris Karius’ deals all come to an end next summer, meaning they are just a couple of months away from being free to speak to foreign clubs.
If the Reds wish to retain either of the experienced former duo, a late extension is likely, especially given that the Spaniard found himself in the exact same situation last year before joining his team-mates in signing a new deal in the summer when handed a new one-year deal.
In contrast, the German has no future at Anfield and will leave the club, with the ECHO understanding his contract could even be terminated in January.
Meanwhile, Salah is one of five players whose contract at Anfield expires in 2023, with Liverpool in also in a precarious position when it comes to the remaining quartet.
The Reds spent a combined £87.75m to sign midfielders Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and now find themselves in a catch-22 scenario regarding their futures.
Both are clearly talented players but recurring injuries have left them both, so far, incapable of cementing their places in Klopp’s starting XI with their futures at the club undermined as a result.
Should Liverpool decide to cash in on either player as a result, they will inevitably make a hefty loss on the £52.75m and £35m fees paid out to RB Leipzig and Arsenal respectively.
Alternatively, they could allow either player to see out their contracts at Anfield, a la Emre Can and Gini Wijnaldum.
But while Klopp might feel better alternatives to the duo are not currently available on the market, and they would still free up space on the wage bill from 2023, it would just be the latest example of the Reds not being able to obtain resale value at a time when limited significant incoming fees has prevented them from investing further in their squad.
Under FSG’s stewardship, the likes of Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho have all been moved on for major fees, freeing up Liverpool to use such funds on further incomings.
But with the Reds going on to win the Champions League and Premier League under Klopp, they were no longer in a position where they would have to consider selling their stars, leaving them in this current state of transfer limbo where they risk being left with an ageing squad.
Yet while Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are ultimately squad players, it’s a different story when it comes to Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Diogo Jota’s arrival last summer might have ensured the duo are no longer certain to be starting every match for Liverpool, but they very much remain first-choice players and two of Klopp’s most trusted lieutenants.
A penny for their thoughts when Salah is clearly the prized jewel in the Reds’ triumvirate crown and their own futures seem somewhat overlooked in comparison.
As the club negotiate with the Egyptian’s representatives, it is unclear what the club plan to do with the remaining members of their famous front three.
Firmino is now 30, while Mane and Salah will join in the ‘thirties club’ before the start of next season, with the trio unavoidably being the face of Liverpool’s ageing side.
Their contracts may well already be on FSG's agenda - but potential progress of deals has been somewhat lost in wider discussions among pundits and perhaps even fans.
If the Reds are to bring significant funds in by selling star players, Firmino and Mane are arguably the two most susceptible to being sacrificed, especially if Salah is retained.
With respective - and relatively meagre - fees of £29m and £34m when both of those stars signed, Liverpool have made their money back regardless of whether they sell them or let them leave for free.
As Klopp revamps his side, a new-look attack will be gradually needed and, from the Liverpool players not tied down to new contracts, they are the two, other than Salah, most likely to command both the biggest transfer fees and the biggest wages that could be reinvested elsewhere.
Van Dijk is the club’s current highest earner according to reports on a supposed £220k a week. But with Salah said to be asking for potentially nearly double that, how Mane and Firmino’s own demands could fall behind him creates a somewhat sticky situation if there is limited room to manoeuvre in their wage structure.
And even if they do all stay, the Reds will want to be in a position where they are no longer first-choice. But that is easier said than done when operating how Liverpool do, without having the funds to bring in record buy after record buy.
After Wijnaldum’s exit, the Dutchman admitted a feeling of being undervalued played its part in his decision to move on. When standing in Salah’s shadow, you could forgive either Mane or Firmino if they felt the same.
With the Egyptian the priority and looking a good bet to maintain such standards well into his mid-thirties, even if that results in a change of role to a more central position, it suddenly feels there will come a day when the Reds no longer have room for all of their current front three.
If you judge both players on goals alone, Firmino would be the one they would look to upgrade on. However, the Brazilian has always relied on pace of mind over pace of legs so could still be a deadly asset for years to come even if he had to adapt to a more withdrawn midfield role.
Meanwhile, Mane might be valued second only to Salah but the fact he isn’t performing as highly as he did during Liverpool’s title-winning year has prompted questions regarding the start of a natural decline.
Yet, as the Reds found out with Can and Wijnaldum, sometimes a suitable replacement, better than the players you already have at your disposal, is not available at the time you want to sell, with it creating a stronger squad for the season ahead if you let such players see out their deals.
So what do Liverpool want to do?
Do they have the room in their wage structure to retain all of these players or are they now in need of sacrificing one or two to raise funds so they can re-invest significantly in their squad?
Regardless, it is clear that Mane and Firmino don’t have long-term futures at Anfield, with any potential new Reds contract likely to be their last as first-choice players.
Liverpool will sell or release the pair at some point, as they will every player. There is no escaping that.
The question now is when and if they are players that can take Klopp’s side into its next chapter or need to be sold to write it.
