What happened last time Liverpool needed TEN new contracts in one summer?

Liverpool have been in a position like this before. Here's how things went the last time the Reds signed 10 new contracts in one summer.

Liverpool have a massive summer ahead on the contract front. Though, last summer should have been a massive one on that same front.

The Reds are on the brink of losing their three best outfield players on free transfers. Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all on expiring deals - and we're now around three months from the end dates.

It will never stop being bizarre to think about.

Now, Liverpool may well re-sign all three to new contracts. That feels incredibly unlikely, of course, but the possibility remains.

However, they're not the only contracts Liverpool need to think about. Ibrahima Konate, for instance, enters the final year of his own deal this summer.

Caoimhin Kelleher and Andy Robertson do the same. There's then a whole host of players whose contracts expire in 2027, making this summer the 'last' time Liverpool could sell for a large price.

Luis Diaz is one of those - a player who has reportedly rejected contract offers this season. Alisson Becker will enter the final two years of his own contract at a time when competition arrives in the form of Giorgi Mamardashvili.

This is an incredible amount of contracts to deal with, then. Liverpool have largely brought this on themselves, of course, but regardless of that, this is the situation they find themselves in.

Liverpool's contract situation in 2021

Liverpool have been in a somewhat similar situation before. At least, they've headed into a summer with mass contract plans before.

Liverpool Transfer News: Reds salary RESET as manager admits Salah situation 'not easy'

Back in 2021, Liverpool moved forward on deals for Van Dijk, Alisson, Jordan Henderson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Robertson. Non-first-XI stars like Harvey Elliott, Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Adrian also got new contracts at the end of a bizarre, injury-hit season.

Those deals were all agreed with Michael Edwards and Julian Ward - two figures who will also guide contract talks this summer. And so it can be done.

Liverpool do know what it takes to negotiate and plan for this many deals at once. The exact same people know how to do it, in fact.

It's a boost and a sign that things could go the Reds' way this summer. While the current situation does feel like a disaster, there is still hope that Liverpool turn it all around into a strong squad that they're proud of.

There are still a lot of questions hanging over the squad as things stand and we remain pessimistic that all the key players will remain at Liverpool. But the chance is there - the Reds are capable of sorting a situation like this all at once.

Fingers crossed they can do it again.

EXCLUSIVE: The truth about Milos Kerkez's Liverpool transfer talks after wild claims