Daniel Sturridge names the one player Liverpool CAN'T AFFORD to lose

Daniel Sturridge has URGED Liverpool to pull out all the stops in order to tie Trent Alexander-Arnold down to a new contract. 

The defender is out of contract in 2025 – one of a trio of high-profile Anfield stars about to enter the final 12 months of their current deals. 

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have also got contracts which run out next summer and there has been no movement so far about fresh terms for any of them. 

Incoming sporting director Richard Hughes already has a bulging in-tray ahead of his official arrival in June and it remains to be seen what happens with the three Premier League and Champions League-winning superstars.

Salah has been linked with a transfer to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, with Liverpool having fended off interest in their top goalscorer last summer. 

This time around however and the landscape feels different with Salah appearing out of sorts in recent weeks and widespread calls for Liverpool to cash in. 

Should the Reds fail to tie down the 31-year-old to a new deal then this represents the final time they will be able to generate a significant transfer fee for Salah. 

Likewise, Van Dijk has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Saudi side Al-Qadsiah, although the defender has recently stated he will be a part of Liverpool’s post-Jurgen Klopp transition. 

However, the one that worries Sturridge the most is Alexander-Arnold. 

The 25-year-old has been a mainstay of the Klopp era but has been on the transfer radar of Real Madrid in recent summers. 

The England international set tongues wagging last month when he described Real legends Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo as his dream dinner party guests and revealed that current Madrid star Jude Bellingham is his best friend in football. 

Liverpool would be set against losing Trent for free next summer and, if no new contract is agreed, they might have to offload him this year. 

That is something the club has got to safeguard against, according to Alexander-Arnold’s former team-mate Sturridge, who wants the right back to go down in Anfield folklore like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. 

'Liverpool can't lose Trent' says Sturridge

“All the top clubs around Europe are going to be sniffing,” Sturridge said on Sky Sports of Trent’s current contract situation. “They've got to do everything in their power to get him to sign on the dotted line because you can't lose Trent. 

“He's from the city, we are talking guys like Stevie G [Gerrard] and Jamie Carragher who have represented one club and that's what you want for Trent. 

“Of course Mo [Salah] and Virg [Van Dijk], they're guys that they've brought in, they've been absolutely world class for the football club, but the local lad in Trent who's become a superstar at the football club, he's the one that you want to make sure [stays].”