Liverpool's three 'priorities' revealed in new January transfer twist - Expert

Liverpool will prioritise getting Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold tied down to new contracts ahead of January transfer targets.

This is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that the Reds are unlikely to be busy in the winter market.

Instead, they view retaining their star players as the most important issue at the club given the difficulties they will have in finding replacements.

All three of their star players are out of contract at the end of the season as things stand, but Liverpool are determined to see them commit their futures to the club.

Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, while there is interest in Salah from Saudi Arabia, but the Reds remain confident they can keep them.

This process, it is said, will take priority ahead of incoming transfers and would give the whole club a boost as they continue their push for the title.

Brown explained that seeing key players sign extensions to their contracts would take the weight off and remove ongoing speculation which has so far distracted from the on-pitch displays.

Liverpool transfer priority revealed ahead of January window

Speculation about the future of all three key players has been rife since the summer window ended, and has been reignited by Salah’s admission that no formal offer has been made.

However, Brown, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after spending over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that new contracts will still be the priority for Liverpool.

“Their biggest problem is the three out of contract players,” he told Football Insider.

“From January, they can sign for whoever they want, and that’s a major problem for Liverpool.

“That’ll be their priority in the transfer window before they can even think about trying to bring in reinforcements and adding to their squad.

“How much money would it cost them to replace Salah? Or Van Dijk? It would be a big chunk of their budget, that’s for sure.

“The people making these decision will get together with the agents and thrash out a deal.

“If they can get them tied down to new deals, that’ll give everybody at the club a real lift and help them to kick on and push for the title.

“At the moment, it’s a bit of a dampener because even when they win there’s all of this speculation going on in the background.

“So when it comes to the January window and strengthening their squad to push for the title, the best thing they could do is to secure these new contracts.”

In other news, Liverpool are working on a deal to sign “the next Bukayo Saka”.

For more Liverpool and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.

The post Liverpool's three 'priorities' revealed in new January transfer twist - Expert appeared first on Football Insider.