Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool has already dealt a blow to Arsenal and Manchester City’s title hopes for next season after Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s new contracts were confirmed.

The Reds are on the verge of being confirmed as this season’s Premier League champions, despite Arsenal delaying their party for at least a few days.

It leaves just one major renewal outstanding, although Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t look as though he will be following their lead with a move to Real Madrid looking to be in the offing.

Nevertheless, Van Dijk and Salah’s new deals are a coup for Liverpool, and Carragher believes their decision to stay at Anfield will come as a blow for the Reds’ rivals ahead of next season.

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The former Liverpool defender has already tipped his old team to make it back-to-back titles in 2025/26, and he believes that Arsenal and City will already be reeling from the latest developments at Anfield.

“It’s not just a boost for Liverpool, I think it’s almost a knock for everybody else,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

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“For me, they’ve been the two best players in the Premier League this season, so you start next season, if you’re the challengers to Liverpool and those two aren’t playing, there’s no way I think Liverpool start the season - even though they’re champions - as favorites.

“Liverpool, even though they’re going to win the title, they’ve still got areas where they can really improve in this team

They didn’t need to improve the right wing or center-back this summer, that can’s been kicked down the road for a couple of years, and there’s other areas they can address now.”

Liverpool.com says: Having Van Dijk and Salah on board for next season is a huge boost for Liverpool, not least because it leaves the Reds with two fewer areas that need upgrading immediately
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