It’s reached a point where the word ‘contract’ should come with a warning at Liverpool this season.
It has quietly become a very important turning point for the club with a new head coach, the necessity to see an uptick in form from high-money signings such as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nuñez and Ryan Gravenberch, and the current deals of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk coming at the end of the season.
The decisions made this season will distinctly impact the trajectory of the club over the next half-decade at a minimum.
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Who is getting a new deal?
And Football Insider is now reporting that Liverpool are seeking to give dynamic left-winger Luis Diaz a new deal to secure his long-term future.
Diaz has had a sublime start to the season, with his five goals in five games coming second only to Erling Haaland in the league at current. No one would doubt the importance of Diaz’s contributions so far, but the report raises more questions than it answers.
Diaz’s previous league-high goal total for the Reds sits at eight. His five before the season has even reached October indicates a serious progression for the 27-year-old, but with his current contract running until 2027, any such extension could feel slightly premature.
Arne Slot Luis Diaz Liverpool
Should Liverpool contract priority lie elsewhere?
With the high-profile holy trinity contracts of Salah, van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold of imminent importance – with the loss of the trio significantly altering what we can expect to see from Liverpool on the pitch – negotiating with any other player suggests there may have been some movement on that front.
The two obvious schools of thought are either that the three deals are as good as secured and the club feel they can move onto longer-term projects such as Diaz, or that at least one of these players has indicated their intention to leave and the club are using available funds to soften the blow.
With Diaz currently on around £50,000 a week, it would be reasonable to anticipate any new deal would reach the £100,000+ reportedly seen by fellow attackers Gakpo, Jota, Nuñez and Chiesa. With Salah currently earning £350,000 per week, and Trent and Van Dijk anticipating £200,000+ each, it seems unlikely that all deals could be achieved with the crackdown on PSR rules seen by the Premier League of late.
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