Forget same fee and wages, can you find someone who will outperform Salah at all?
If not, the answer would be what’s the next best option and how much would that cost? The club doesn’t seem fond of bringing players who are already there, we seem to prefer signing players at the point of exploding into success, like Salah himself, Mané to a lesser extent, Diaz, Jota, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Keïta, Robertson, Konaté, etc.
They won’t come particularly cheap, but they will tend to come younger and on lower wages, meaning they could deliver for longer on more manageable terms.
Deciding whether or not to renew your 2 most important/influential players (still) shouldn’t even be a debate, yet somehow it is.
Has this got Edwards fingerprints over it? Is he trying to prove a point with the whole Hendo saga?
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Very much a thing. Always has been as far as i know, but usually not a thing spoken about when a player os happy to stay.
When Mbappe signed his new contract with PSG, the signing on fee was £150m. I think players out of contract or otherwise can negotiate a signing fee, and im pretty sure its regular practice, but its usually part of private discussions.
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Yeah typically its spread over the length of the new contract, and is the portion they are still owed if they move before their contract is up. That is often where the financial complications come from and why “handing in a transfer request” is relevant. That is usually short hand for the player waving a portion or all of their outstanding signing bonus
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It sounds almost as though the club isn’t even offering him an extension, if it’s phrased that way…
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It has now caused #FSGOUT to trend on twitter 
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Of course it has. Do those clowns even realise Edwards works for FSG not Liverpool FC? I bet they’re the same people who worship him…
I think we have to wait and see. This could easily be an attempt to put pressure on the club.
I do think we will decide to retain one of the three.
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We should be retaining all of them. We didn’t add to the first team at all in the summer and can’t afford to 2-3 of our best players when they’re all still at an outstanding level. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t get them all signed up, unless Trent wants to leave.
Btw it’s ok to hold this view and also appreciate that FSG have been relatively great owners
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Yes, because it’s makes perfect sense if you do realise (and you probably do) that FSG don’t run the club day-to-day.
I’m not sure what will happen with the contracts, but I can see it being argued both ways about the age of Salah and van Dijk, and that will probably come down to what the club thinks about the probable points they start to decline.
For Alexander-Arnold, I don’t think it’s unlikely that he will extend his contract, but I think it’s a question of what his status at the club is. If both he and the club think he’s one of our stars (and let’s face it, he probably is), then it’s probably a situation where his contract situation is inextricably linked with the other two. Otherwise, if there’s a mismatch in valuation, then it wouldn’t be surprised that it will drag out longer.
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Negotiating tactics being deployed.
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Maybe the club needs to see the lie as well.
I don’t think anyone would have put us where we are with Slot and everything changing.
I personally see it as tactics. The club will understand the lay out to replace.
I can see us keeping two if I’m honest. I think the demands of the other maybe too much. But you also have realise we may have made an offer in the summer that was rejected as the players want to see how Slot would be.
Oddest thing is when I read it first time up to the last line I felt it sounded a little arrogant and then I read the last line as let’s see what the season does.
Now I am more attuned to it being a negotiation stance but still.
No one knows what’s happening and I’d rather the club play it like that than putting its entire plan out in public.
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At this point, I’m rather okay with letting Mo go.
He’s still a phenomenal player but one with depreciating value.
We will struggle to replace him but at some point , we’ve got to look beyond him.
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Totally disagree. With his G/A stats he’s basically a guaranteed goal start in any game he plays in. That’s something very difficult to replace.
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If not now , we’ll have to replace him 2 years further down the line.
I love him. He’s a great player. But unless he accepts a depreciated contract (which he’s not likely to)
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Absolutely Sith. Especially if it frees up money for vVD and perhaps Trent to renew and space to get a replacement this summer.
We should get a young hungry replacement in for sure, but I still think we should keep him for those couple of extra years. The guy is a machine.
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Madueke might work. Particularly if Chelsea need to sell to maintain FFP
Are you actually serious?
Let Salah go…
See if Chelsea need to sell…
See if Madueke might work?
It’s beyond belief that anyone would consider letting Salah go.
Saturday was proof enough of what he brings.
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