Former Liverpool center-half Jamie Carragher has named the player who the Reds have to ensure they get tied down to a new long-term contract.
Fans were taken by surprise when Jurgen Klopp announced last week that he would be leaving Anfield in the summer after nine seasons at the club.
The German manager won Liverpool’s first league title in over 30 years in 2020 and won the club’s sixth Champions League crown in 2019 and nearly came close to making it seven in 2022 but fell against Real Madrid.
This summer promises to be the first off-season in a long time when a huge rebuild, with a new manager at the helm, is likely to occur and key players are approaching the final 18 months of their contracts.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent-Alexander Arnold are the three key players for the Reds who are approaching the final 18 months of their contract and decisions will have to be made.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick To Football podcast, Jamie Carragher has named the player that he believes has to be tied down to a new long-term contract.
“I think the player they have to get signed on for a new contract isn’t Virgil Van Dijk or Mo Salah but it’s Trent Alexander Arnold,” Carragher revealed.
“Those three players have 18 months to go, in those 18 months Salah and Van Dijk will be 34 or 35. So this thing of ‘oh, we could lose Van Dijk’, well it might actually be the right decision to let him go then.
“But for me, Alexander Arnold is the one you have to build the team around, he’s the pivotal player for this rebuild.”
Not only are Liverpool back to their best with yet another intense title race on the cards for the Anfield club but the English defender has certainly got back to his best.
After playing in midfield last season for the Reds, Alexander-Arnold has excelled once again but with Conor Bradley breaking into the first-team, it seems that there will be competition in that position.
Alexander-Arnold has scored two goals and provided three assists for the Merseyside club and he has to be tied down to a new long-term contract in the summer.