(Credit: Imago)

Ben Palmer

Tue 25 March 2025 16:55, UK

Liverpool will likely now be preparing for Virgil van Dijk’s departure this summer as they desperately look to keep Mohamed Salah at Anfield.

Despite being on-course for only their second Premier League title this century, the discourse around the Reds this season has been dominated by the contract statuses of Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The first domino has now fallen, with the English right-back reportedly agreeing personal terms with Real Madrid, ahead of a free transfer this summer.

The move leaves Liverpool faced with the tricky proposition of agreeing contracts with their two remaining stars, both of whom already have significant interest from abroad.

Mohamed Salah irreplaceable after record-setting season

Salah has made it clear from the beginning of this season he would like to remain at Anfield, having nearly eight seasons at Liverpool since joining from Roma.

There were some creeping doubts surrounding the Egyptian’s age and whether agreeing a bumper new deal would be financially prudent, but the former Chelsea man has responded with one of the Premier League’s greatest ever campaigns.

29 games, 27 goals, 17 assists. Salah’s extraordinary numbers have powered the Reds to first-place in the table and it is clear the right-winger is still one of the best players on the planet.

Any direct replacement for the Egyptian international would be unbelievably expensive and would likely eat up most, if not all, of Liverpool’s transfer budget this season.

As a result, the Reds will likely look to bring in a younger winger with high upside who could benefit from time spent behind the legendary attacker, before taking the reign’s in a few seasons time.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, Football Insider has previously revealed, and whilst he thrives on the left, the Englishman has shown himself capable on both flanks and has an immense amount of talent.

However, re-signing Salah will necessarily be a considerably expensive move, with the winger potentially demanding a contract that could put him alongside Erling Haaland as one of Europe’s top earners.

With other areas of the squad needing addressing in the summer, the right-winger’s new contract may come at the expense of one of the Reds’ other greatest servants.

Liverpool to replace Virgil van Dijk with Dean Huijsen

Andy Robertson, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota may all need replacing this summer, which will be an incredibly expensive project to undertake.

Alongside renewing Salah’s deal, the considerable outlay for revamping the squad could price Liverpool out of extending Van Dijk’s time at Anfield.

The defender joined six months after his Egyptian teammate, but the former Celtic man will be 34-years-old come the start of next season and Van Dijk’s game against PSG suggests he is arguably beginning to struggle against very top-tier opposition.

Following Liverpool’s Champions League exit, Van Dijk was spotted having a conversation with PSG’s bosses Nasser al-Khelaifi and Luis Campos.

The Dutchman has also been linked with a stunning move to Bayern Munich and the bidding-war that will likely take place this summer would price the Reds out of retaining their captain.

Instead, Liverpool could turn to Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, who represents great value for money, is 19-years-old, and has proven himself to be ready for the step-up to the highest level of world football.