01 Sep 2024 08:12:31
Guardian report on the contract situation of the 3 key players today. Discussed the changes from Ward to Schmadtke to Hughes as a key reason it’s been allowed to happen.
Ideally I’d like us to keep all 3 but TAA is the one that must be tied down.
Salah’s move to Saudi feels inevitable because of his profile in the Middle East and the ludicrous wages he’ll be offered.
VVD will be 34 when his contract expires, so a successor is needed anyway.
TAA is the big one. Local boy, phenomenal talent and reaching his peak. To lose him on a free to Real would be awful.
The clock is ticking until January. I’m worried TAA is going to do a McManaman (showing my age there)!
What do you think EDs?

{Ed001's Note - we are not exactly making them feel wanted. The changes are nothing but an excuse for failure to deal with a pressing issue.}

1.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:28:54
In the eyes of a footballer perhaps playing for Real Madrid is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Only Trent will know what he’s thinking but he’s ticked everything off for Liverpool and won the lot.

I really hope the lad stays but can we really begrudge him if he decides to moves to Spain and live the dream for a few years.

2.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:41:01
We have to give Trent what he wants and needs to feel like a top priority and future captain of the club. He is one of the most talented players in world football, regardless of what some posters here think (those who say he's good for nothing but the odd Hollywood pass every few games) . You can see already in the first two games how important he is to Slot.

3.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:50:32
Don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes but it seems to me that Mo is content and is giving us his best this season as a sort of farewell tour, . Certainly he seems relaxed and like he is enjoying his footy.

TAA seems to be having fun winding the media up - with stuff like the teasing the media after the Fulham match. I also think he showed how much it means to him to play for the club when he was pee’d off being subbed against Brentford - personally I thought his response was brilliant.

VVD is the one that seems miffed about it all - it seems to me that he had expected the club to speak to him before now.

I’d have a tender on TAA being here next year, Mo playing in Saudi and VVD playing somewhere is Europe for a team a tier below the top tier.

4.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:54:20
Like everyone else I'd love to see Trent stay but at the same time he must be thinking about his options at the minute, I know I would be in his shoes. If I could go to that Real Madrid team or keep somewhere not offering me a contract? it's Real Madrid every day of the week. We should've been on this ages ago yet it's still not happened? it isn't good enough.

We're not that stupid though surely? we need to get him one offered ASAP. It can go either way for VVD or Salah but I hope they're also offered new contracts. Both are still playing well, they can't be written off due to their age when they keep playing well consistantly.

As far as opinion goes I think Salah will leave next summer, VVD and Trent to stay. To be honest at this rate if 2 of the 3 stay I'll be happy.

5.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:56:48
The 3 on their last year contracts should have been sorted well before the season started . A massive club like liverpool can't organise the contracts out because of a change in personnel is scandalous, to me it looks like they want them to leave, 3 of the highest earners aswel, hope im proved wrong.

6.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 09:57:59
This is one of the most bizarre situations I can remember at the club. Even if we completely balls up the situation before Klopp ect left we have a new team in to sort contracts out and here we are with 3 massive players and a few months until clubs jump all over them on a free. There is absolutely no excuse. Hughes is not good enough simple as that.

7.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 10:04:22
The question is - Is he really good enough for RM?

Fans there are not forgiving as we are here.

If he believes and wants to test himself, he can try but has to give it a hard thinking.

My personal opinion is - he is very good attacking right back with great passing range but has to improve defensively. I don't see CM role or DM or ball carrying mid-fielder suit him or he has not shown enough to cement that position here.


He has to evaluate risk vs return before he moves away - to RM or any other place.

We all know he was not first choice even this transfer season at RM.

8.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 10:27:29
Salah, VVD and TAA could all leave for free next summer when they signed the contracts they have years ago. It's not a new thing and no one knows what the club and the players really want.
I want them to sign new contracts but it doesn't matter what I want so I don't think it's scandalous that the club isn't doing what I want.

9.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 10:49:39
Best right back in the world Sami Kewell.

10.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 11:02:29
The club will have a ceiling on what they’re willing to pay each week, and how long they’re willing to offer contracts for to players as they get older. Mo is still a good player, but his greatest days are behind him. I couldn’t see us offering him more than two years, not sure whether that would be enough to keep him. Same with VVD. Trent I think we could broadly offer him what he’d like financially, but we can’t offer him more trophies and the Spanish lifestyle - I suspect he’ll go unfortunately. Of all three our best chance is probably keeping VVD as his alternatives won’t be as good as the other two.

11.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 11:15:31
If he doesn’t want to sign a contract then there is literally nothing the club can do.
However, you hope the club has done everything reasonable to get Trent to sign. We’d be losing a home grown first team player who is yet to reach his peak. That would be a big blow.

Salah and Virgil are past their peak in my opinion and not home grown players. I would have tried to sell them this summer for a decent fee. You can’t sell them without an achievable plan to replace them though.

12.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 11:27:24
I notice that Alphonso Davies' contract also expires at exactly the same time as TAA's (June 25), it wouldn't surprise me if both end up at RM next season, as they have been looking to replace both RB and LB positions.

{Ed001's Note - that is certainly what Madrid are trying to make happen.}

13.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 11:39:00
The only thing that slightly eases the worry of TAA going, is that, in Bradley, we haven’t a tremendous prospect ready to replace him. It opens a clear path to the 1st team for him.

14.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 12:03:48
If you were Trent, what would you do?
You're 25/ 26, with the opportunity to go and play for the biggest club in the world with a genuine likelihood of silverware every season. You will likely be paid in excess of 300k a week and live in a vibrant capital city with everything that entails.
Meanwhile, the club you've always loved and belonged to has an exciting squad but statistically rather small chance of winning the ultimate prizes, can't offer the financial rewards available elsewhere, and doesn't seem all that keen on keeping you, or your elite teammates, in the first place.
The only thing stopping Trent signing for Madrid is his love for Liverpool. He will be superb in either team, but the fact we haven't got it sorted is SHAMBOLIC.

15.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 12:06:44
If Real Madrid can pull off getting Davies and Trent for free then fair play to them that'd be some of the best business going.

16.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 12:24:36
Not that it has anything to do with us, and it pains me to say this, given that I'm Canadian and a big Davies fan, Davies is a big name but he hasn't really been good for more than a season now, he was actually one of the most disappointing performers in a Bayern shirt last season too. Basically he can only play in a Flick type system where he has lots of space to run into, in a more controlled and less transition-based style of play he is not that good in both an offensive and defensive perspective, and given that most of his game relies on going forward, when you stifle him in that regard he offers very little.

I'm sure that won't stop people on this board who never really watch him play and just remember him from highlights from when he was Flick's most important player offensively and defensively saying Liverpool should go after him when his contract is up and that he's way better than Robbo, though.

As for Trent, to the person who said is he good enough for Real, Real clearly know something a lot of us have known all along, that in terms of progressive passing he pretty much has no equal, and couple that with the likes of Endrick, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vini Jr running on to passes that he supplies from deep, and I shudder to think what might happen (still, Real just drew to Las Palmas, and Mbappe is on a scoring drought, so people going on about Real being invincible probably also need a small dose of reality) .

17.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 13:01:55
Make Trent captain, he deserves it by now. Vvd and salah are gone next season. Want Trent to stay get it sorted.

18.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 13:10:44
Hey PB - Looks like you still haven't abt Zubi discussion.

I admire your inputs on Davies.

If the same tactic is applied on the right side by opposition teams, by attacking aerialy from right, Trent cannot defend those over the top balls. Many teams have done that to us.

Trent is clearly better than Davies because of his fantastic passing range.

Ed2 clealy said that he was their Plan B and not first option for right back.


If he goes, all the best to him.

It will certainly not be easy to handle the pressure if it does not go well.

19.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 13:11:05
Lowe1FC, what do you expect the club to do differently to make TAA's contract situation less shambolic?

20.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 13:59:29
I might be a bit deluded/ optimistic but I am hopeful we get all three player contracts sorted over the international break.

2-year extensions for Virg and Mo, with options for one more year beyond that.

And a 4-year deal for the Scouser in our team, Trent.

Virg and Mo are physical freaks and with careful management can play well into their late 30s.

Trent is one of us. He wants to be successful with his club. If we cannot sell the vision to Trent, then we have no hope attracting any top talent and Edwards et al can do one.

21.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 14:04:21
This is a very glass half empty thread, yet again about Hughes! Salah seems to have suggested in his recent interview that his plan is to leave next summer regardless. He literally said he just wants to enjoy his last year. Virgil was also pretty dismissive of the question and clearly wanted to focus on the football, but given he’s nearly 34, I think it’s time we looked at replacing him next summer anyway and most on here seem to agree until it’s time to whip Hughes some more. Maybe we will follow up on the Inacio interest as soon as Virgil agrees a deal to leave? Maybe even in January as we like dipping into the winter market in recent years? Hopefully Chiesa comes good for us this season and Doak/ Gordon come back from their loans ready to compete for a position in the squad. If not maybe we’ll finally push for someone like Bakayoko? No dramas.

Regards to Trent, I’m sure they will be in talks, but IF his heads been turned by Madrid using Bellingham to tap him up (which they are in my own cynical glass half empty view) then what can you do? Bradley is a top tier replacement anyway, and we will hopefully get Ramsay back next summer over his injuries and ready to compete for game time. If not maybe we’ll follow up our interest in Frimpong? No dramas.

A wise man once said “footballers are transient employees”. Also, not one person on this site knows exactly what internal conversations have happened between Slot, Hughes and these 3 players. At least keep that in mind when calling for peoples jobs. Slot and Hughes will be given the freedom to rebuild the squad in their image and as supporters we need to accept that this means some fan favourites will be leaving in the coming years. Anyway, We’ve always allowed players to run down their contracts long before Hughes ever got the job (Lallana, Sturridge, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Firmino, Milner, Origi, Adrian, Matip, Thiago etc. ) Disagree with it if you want but it’s clearly not an unintentional mistake that we repeatedly opt not to give higher salaries to players that are deemed to be in decline of on the brink of it. I’d assume Trent is the only one of the 3 where they see the value in an extension But again, Trent might’ve had his head turned and you can’t make him sign.

My advice would be just keep calm and enjoy the football ?.

22.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 15:38:52
Hughes has been a disaster. The last guy we want in control trying to replace VVD Salah and Trent next summer.

23.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 18:09:47
Christ mk you’ve countered our glass half empty comments with a glass half empty reply ?.

If we combine them we can get a full pint (apologies I know that word triggers some)

24.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 18:19:34
How has Hughes been a disaster, LFC8?

25.) 01 Sep 2024
01 Sep 2024 18:18:17
In his post-match interview Ed001, Mo seemed very keen to make it clear that the club haven't spoken to him yet which is very surprising to me. To have not even spoken yet?

{Ed001's Note - they really need to sort this out now.}