The MASSIVE cost of Liverpool transfer DOOMSDAY revealed

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 11 Nov 2024 03:44 CST
• 4 min read

It’s been a fantastic start to the season for Liverpool under Arne Slot with the Reds currently 5 points clear of reigning champions Man City at the top of the Premier League table.

The transition from the iconic Jurgen Klopp could not have gone more smoothly, and that’s with a relatively arid summer transfer window in which only one perceived problem - the future of Alisson - was addressed by the arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili next season.

It could also be argued that the reformation of Ryan Gravenberch’s role from underwhelming midfielder operator under Klopp, to the No.6 Liverpool fans have been crying out for, solved another major issue too.

But in the background there is a grim clock ticking, the one involving three Liverpool superstars and their contract negotiations - Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Current ETV

Mohamed Salah

F (CR), M (R)

Liverpool

Mohamed Salah

F (CR), M (R)

Liverpool

€27.9M

ETV Range

€20.9M - €34.9M

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It’s a totally unique situation, post-Bosman, for a club of the stature of Liverpool to have arguably their three most vital assets all at risk of leaving for free simultaneously. All three are now deep into the final season of their current deals, and as yet there is no sign of an extension for any of the trio.

Bosman has allowed players to move with freedom and it has impacted almost all clubs; Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard, Robert Lewandowski and, of course, Kylian Mbappe took advantage of this in the past. But no one club has ever stood to lose so much in one summer. But just how much are we talking?

Transfer Values: How much are Liverpool's big 3 worth?

At their peak, TAA, Van Dijk and Salah represented €400m of talent via FootballTransfers’ ETV (Estimated Transfer Value) model. But because of how our model works, their contracts winding down mean that they are now worth just €26.4m, €19m and €27.4m respectively - totalling €72.8m. Already the Reds have seen more than €300m slip away, and within the next six months those current values will effectively be zero.

The reason for the numbers varies between each player, as do the complexities facing Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes as they look to find solutions to three massive problems.

Salah is now 32 and signed an extension previously close to the end of his current deal. But this time, with age now an even bigger factor, he may feel that an offer from Saudi Arabia may be too enticing to reject, and so he is perhaps waiting to see what happens.

Likewise, Van Dijk has publicly expressed a desire to stay, but he is now 33. As with Salah, the club could well be wary of offering an overly long deal to a player unquestionably in the latter stages of his career. Both might want guarantees of three-year contracts, and perhaps the club aren’t willing to offer them.

In the case of Alexander-Arnold however, it simply comes down to the timing in his career. He is 26 and knows he will be able to command a huge signing-on fee for himself if he were available on a free, similar to Kylian Mbappe’s recent move to Real Madrid.

The Santiago Bernabeu is the most likely destination for Trent should he decide to leave; first-choice full-back Dani Carvajal has suffered a cruciate ligament injury and will also be 33 in January. Trent is considered an obvious successor, being one of the best in his position in the world.