One of the most startling things about the contract fiasco that Liverpool find themselves in with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk is that the two players haven’t exactly been hiding that they’re good.
They have, for over six years now, consistently been the best players on the pitch for the Reds. Their contracts were allowed to dwindle due to being the two highest-paid players at the club alongside the fact that they are both in their early-30s.
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Yet, even though it is a ‘contract year’, both players are playing at the level that we have come to expect - that is to say, world-beating.
Just today, Salah was named PFA Player of the Month for November.
It’s unsurprising, given his five goal involvements in just three Premier League games in the month. He sits on a staggering 27 goal involvements for the Reds in all competitions this season and is quite clearly the best player in the world right now.
Meanwhile, yesterday Van Dijk was named in the FIFPro Men’s 11, a lineup of the best players in the world as voted for by professional footballers around the world.
Van Dijk’s inclusion was the fourth time he was named in the team, tying Gerard Pique and sitting one place behind John Terry for the most inclusions for a centre-back.
And, much like Salah, at this rate it is a foregone conclusion that Van Dijk will match Terry’s number this time next year if he keeps playing the way he currently is.
So, with Salah on a Ballon d’Or run and Van Dijk pushing towards ‘greatest centre-back of all time’ claims, it begs the question - what is Richard Hughes doing?
Salah and Van Dijk HAVE to be re-signed
There is no doubt that a long-term plan will be needed to replace the pair of them. That plan is not currently in place.
Letting them go at the end of this season because the next men are up and ready would be painful for the Anfield faithful but acceptable. Re-signing Salah and Van Dijk whilst adding players ready to step into their shoes would be optimal.
But right now, neither have happened. If you listen to Salah himself, it sounds like it’s not even close to happening.
Replacing them directly for next season will be painful. Any right-winger who can match Salah for output - Cole Palmer and Raphinha come to mind - would be practically impossible to sign and would cost the Reds an arm and a leg. Not to mention the salary would be similar enough to what Salah is already asking for.
At a certain point, one of the paths mentioned above has to be taken. And with the two of them still playing at all-world levels, re-signing them is clearly the correct one.
The drama this saga is causing is a mess of Hughes’s making. He can make it right and he can sort it out once and for all.
Do the right thing.
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