The KEY man keeping Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah at Liverpool

Liverpool are set to renew the contracts of Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah. They've got one man to thank, it seems.

News broke all over the place on Wednesday that Liverpool expect to sign new contracts with both Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah. It's the news fans have been praying for.

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Their contract sagas, along with Trent Alexander-Arnold's, has dominated off-the-pitch talk at Liverpool this season. It's been a constant issue hanging over the squad, even as they top the league.

Was this just the last dance for three of Liverpool's greats? Well, not for two of them. Alexander-Arnold is still expected to join Real Madrid, however.

But Van Dijk and Salah should both remain. It's been a strange process, in truth, with both players reportedly preferring to stay and Liverpool wanting them to stay.

Their ages, however, created an issue as the Reds were reluctant to pay over the odds to keep players right at the end of their elite-level careers. No one wants to be stuck paying incredible wages to players who are no longer elite, after all.

Remarkably, it seems Salah won't even get a pay cut. Liverpool are backing him and Van Dijk entirely, doing so in a way we really didn't see coming.

Especially as, again, both wanted to stay. Neither have negotiated at any great length with other clubs, despite being free to do so since January 1st.

And it appears Liverpool have one man to thank for that.

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The Arne Slot factor

Fabrizio Romano is adamant that Arne Slot has played a crucial role in keeping the two stars at Liverpool.

"Mo is very happy with Arne Slot, same for Virgil van Dijk, so the manager has been important," said Romano on YouTube. "To have a manager replacing Jurgen Klopp doing the fantastic job he's doing on the pitch but also off the pitch.

"Replacing Jurgen Klopp was not easy and the relationship he has with the players was an absolutely crucial point to show them that this project can be long-term with Arne Slot was something that made the difference."

The important factor isn't necessarily that Slot is this great improvement on Klopp. It's more that the Dutchman has proven to both players that they can work with him and work with him successfully.

There's no drop-off and the team will be competitive; there was essentially no chance of Van Dijk or Salah sticking around for a transitional phase. But they won't have to.

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Slot has quickly shown everyone that Liverpool will compete for the biggest trophies and that had both stars convinced. They'll spend the next two years with the title in their sights and a chance to leave an almighty legacy.