Liverpool's £78m deal will LOSE them Mo Salah

With the January transfer window now being open, all of the talk around Liverpool’s out of contract trio has seriously hotted up.

The expectation is that both Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk are close to extending their stays at Anfield, with Anfield Watch exclusively reporting that Van Dijk’s agent is telling other parties he’s not attainable.

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But the one that Reds are truly worried about, understandably, is Trent Alexander-Arnold.

His interest in a move to Real Madrid has been assumed and Madrid’s interest in him well reported - going as far to send an insultingly low offer of €10m earlier in the week which was rejected.

And it is anticipated they will offer up to £20m for the right-back in this window before trying to sign him on a free transfer come the summer (and the end of his deal).

In response, the Mirror are now reporting that Liverpool have offered Alexander-Arnold a five-year, £300,000-per-week deal to stay.

The deal, which would total £78m over the course of the five years, would see him become the team’s second-highest paid player (pending Van Dijk’s new deal).

But with Liverpool’s investment in freshening the squad being close to ‘thrifty’ recently, it begs the question - is that a smart investment?

Is Alexander-Arnold an investment worth making?

As well as trying to retain Salah and Van Dijk, the team is looking at new left-backs, central midfielders and centre-forwards beyond the necessary eventual replacements for the previously mentioned 32-year olds.

£78m is a seriously sizable fee that could, realistically, be the combined total for Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki - two players the club are serious about trying to bring in.

And given the level of Alexander-Arnold’s performance today, you have to be convinced to invest that much into something. It is worth asking that question.

Salah and Van Dijk are the only two players currently earning more than Alexander-Arnold and may want similar salaries to that reported for the right-back. And even though the club may anticipate better performance fees this season, the long-term nature of the investment seems questionable.

Whatever Richard Hughes and company decide to do, they better hope it translates to on-pitch results.

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