Liverpool coach Arne Slot sends contract message over Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has not-so-subtly REMINDED his bosses that three of the best Champions League players of all time have contracts with the club which are about to expire. 

The Dutchman was asked to name his best Champions League winners XI for Amazon Prime Video Sport recently and opted to include FOUR of his current Liverpool stable as well as another club legend in the shape of Steven Gerrard.

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Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, a veteran of Liverpool's Champions League victory is in along with the aforementioned trio of Mohamed Salah,

 Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.

It appears that Slot has taken an opportunity to lay the groundwork for three players he is desperate to keep at the club ahead of their imminent contract expirations.

When asked to explain, on Salah, Slot told Amazon Prime Video Sport:

“For me it’s clear that Mo Salah should be in. Eight or nine years at such a high level… he’s been so special for this club… with even Mo right up there with [Messi and Ronaldo].”

There is no higher compliment than putting Salah alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but he has earned that. Slot is similarly complimentary about Virgil van Dijk:

“Virgil needs to be there. He has had a lot of impact on this club, I think when he and Alisson came in it was the last step the team needed to make. Impressive centre-back, really good in the air. So he has all the attributes a centre-back should have.”

Trent in over Alves and Carvajal

Slot’s choice of 'needs to be there' is indicative of his understanding of how Van Dijk anchors everything this Liverpool side has achieved over the past near-decade.

Asked for his explanation for Trent, he said: "For obvious reasons, I think. He’s been so special for Liverpool…”

Slot makes this choice over Dani Alves, Philipp Lahm, Dani Carvajal, and Joshua Kimmich, just to name a few.

Naming all three players seems like a concerted effort to show them how important they are to Slot’s plans. How can Liverpool club bosses allow three players of that calibre walk out the door for nothing?

The rest of the team is filled out by Gerard Pique, Frank de Boer, Sergio Busquets, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.