Arne Slot tells Richard Hughes whose contract NEEDS to be renewed next

Liverpool have finally got the contracts sorted for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Sure, the fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to leave for a free transfer to Real Madrid still hurts but two out of three ain’t bad.

It means the Reds can plan their upcoming windows with a degree of certainty and draw up a long-term blueprint to move on from Salah and Dijk in two years' time.

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That said, contract renewals are an ongoing process and Liverpool have got plenty of issues coming down the track.

Next summer Ibrahima Konate’s terms expire. No doubt sporting director Richard Hughes will be looking for a swift resolution on that one before Paris Saint-Germain strike.

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Andy Robertson and Coaimhin Kelleher are also among the 2026 cohort but they are of lesser importance right now than the French defender.

And it doesn’t get any easier for 2027.

Not only will Salah and Van Dijk likely wave goodbye but other players such as Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Conor Bradley and Luis Diaz all see their current terms expire.

That looks like being a summer of change but there is one more significant deal which needs to be wrapped up before it gets much closer to expiring in 2027.

That’s Arne Slot.

Five PL managers make more than Slot

Maybe it was Liverpool hedging their bets but when Slot came in last summer it wasn’t on the most favourable terms looking back.

His work at Feyenoord had been splendid but perhaps there was a sense of it being a tad provincial. No one would really know if Slot would pass muster at a bigger club until he was actually in place.

And so his reported salary of £6.2 million per annum - on a contract to 2027 - doesn’t scream assurance. Not to mention, he wouldn’t be “manager”, he would be a head coach, working under a different structure to the one Jurgen Klopp enjoyed.

There are at least five other coaches making more money than Slot in the Premier League this season according to GIVEMESPORT - including Pep Guardiola (£20m), Mikel Arteta (£13m), David Moyes (£12.5m), Unai Emery (£8m) and Ruben Amorim (£6.5m).

Coaches such as Emery and Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, got contracts until 2029. By contrast, Slot’s three-year term isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

And yet by the end of this season, only Slot and Guardiola will have a Premier League title on their CVs. Slot has proven beyond all reasonable doubt that he is a coach for the elite level, getting more out of several of Klopp’s players than the German ever could.

And his recent comments suggest that he is planning to stick around a lot longer than the terms of his current deal. Richard Hughes needs to sit up and take notice.

Slot wants to STAY

“It isn’t only the results. The people who work here and the fans we have are, I think, what makes this club so special,” Slot said ahead of the West Ham game last weekend.

"I know the outside world is looking at all the goals or the wins we make. But I think that to enjoy your life on a daily basis, you need to be happy from when you drive in.

“That’s one of the reasons people like to be here. It’s why Jurgen stayed so long - and why Mo wants to stay here two more years despite being here for so long already.

“It’s why, in general, players, managers, people work so long at this club. There’s a great culture and a lot of nice people working here.

"From the start, I felt really welcome and really happy here in the way I can work at this club with the staff, with the players, with the facilities. It always helps if results are positive as well. That’s the X-Factor you need.”

Should Hughes open Slot negotiations?

Slot is not passing through. He is here for the long haul and commands significant leverage in any upcoming negotiations with the club over a new deal due to his impending success.

Look around Europe’s top five leagues right now and I’m sure you’d find plenty of so-called big clubs who would take Slot right now.

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are probably among that number for a start, given their horrific midweek failures in the Champions League. The market won’t be skinny for a coach as talented as Slot should he opt to see what’s out there.

By 2027, Van Dijk, Salah and Alisson will perhaps be ready to take their leave.

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But by that stage you’d hope Slot would only be three years into a long dynastic spell in charge at Anfield. Let’s hope the FSG decision-makers are paying attention when he’s suggesting who should be next in line for a contract renewal.