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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, along with Virgil van Dijk, see their Liverpool contracts expire soon(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

It was a bad week for Liverpool in what should still be a very good season.

While the Reds exited the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain and then lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United, that twin disappointment should soon be banished.

The Reds will return to action on Wednesday week (April 2) at home to Merseyside rivals Everton holding a commanding advantage at the top of the Premier League.



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They currently sit 12 points clear of second-placed Arsenal and know that 16 points from their final nine games will see the title return to Anfield for the 20th time.

Given five of those games are at home, Liverpool supporters have every reason to believe that the job is almost done.

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But more uncertainty surrounds three of the players who have helped the Reds to the brink of the championship - leading marksman Mohamed Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold.

All three are out of contract come June 20 and, as things stand, they are set to depart the club on free transfers.

Van Dijk and Salah have made it clear they would like to remain at Liverpool but Alexander-Arnold, amid serious interest from Real Madrid, has been less vocal about his future, saying back in September: "I want to be a Liverpool player this season (as a minimum) is what I will say.

"I have been at the club (for) 20 years now.

I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public, and this one won’t be either."

Madrid made contact with Reds bosses on New Year's Eve about bringing in the Alexander-Arnold once the winter transfer window opened.

That enquiry was swiftly rebuffed by Liverpool but they always expected the reigning European champions to take the opportunity to speak to the England international, as he has been allowed to do since January 1.

And after reports in Spain this week claimed that a deal to take Alexander-Arnold to the Spanish capital is '99 per cent done', former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has gone even further.

Speaking on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the ex-Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers No.1, who is now a pundit, said: "The information I have is: Trent Alexander-Arnold is going to Madrid.

“I spent time in Madrid when we covered the Real Madrid v Man City game, and speaking to sources, they’re convinced Trent signed a pre-contract in January.

“It hasn’t been made public knowledge yet, but the word in Madrid is they are 100 per cent sure that he has signed a deal."

Alexander-Arnold missed the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle after injuring his tackle in Liverpool's Champions League second-leg defeat to PSG.

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While the damage is not as bad as first feared, the 26-year-old is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks but should be back in action for the end of next month.


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