Arne Slot spoke ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea. (Image: Liverpool FC)
Arne Slot served up an X-rated answer when quizzed on the contract status of three key Liverpool players.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all out of contract at the end of the season, with Slot once again refusing to issue an update on their futures.
When asked if there has been any progress on the contract front, Slot replied: “What is happening is they were with their national teams, Trent scored a fantastic free-kick.
“Same question, same answer, there will always be talks and it is normal that you asked. If they played badly – not to say s*** this time! – it’s a good thing you ask that if they renew because it says they play well. I cannot say anything about it at this time.”
Alexander-Arnold in particular has been linked to a Real Madrid switch in recent weeks, yet Slot had nothing but praise for the right-back’s performance over the international break.
On the Englishman’s quality, Slot added: “Good players will always find a way into the team if they have good team-mates, which is what Trent has at England…
“He’s been very good for us until now. He was and still is important when attacking and I liked the way he has defended too.
“He has made a step up in that perspective. But like all the others, room for improvement, that is clear. I think he has done well for us this season and the national team too. Three times from four Man of the Match. Let’s hope he will be it for us too.”
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Liverpool are at risk of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah. (Image: Getty)
While Liverpool might be at risk of losing some of their star talents in the near future, Slot is currently having to deal with several injury issues in his squad.
Admitting there are “some issues with players coming back from their national teams”, the Dutchman revealed Liverpool are set to be without goalkeeper Alisson for the upcoming games.
Speaking about the Brazil shot-stopper’s fitness issues, Slot said: “Alisson is for sure not with us in upcoming weeks, that’s a blow for him and us, he did really well for this club for so many years.
“Caoimhin [Kelleher] did well for us in previous years and this year, so we have a good replacement. We’ve got quite some issues and we can only judge that from today as it’s the first day they are all in.
“Alexis Mac Allister missed one game, played the second. Konstantinos [Tsimikas] missed England…I can name them all and we have a few issues, so we will see. [Wataru] Endo was sick, we will see.”
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The knocks and niggles come at an awkward time for Slot, given Liverpool find themselves at the start of a mammoth run of games, starting with the visit of Chelsea this weekend.
On Liverpool’s upcoming opponents, Slot commented: “If you look at the table it is [the toughest challenge]. Man United are a top club and spent a lot, same for Chelsea in this season but they have done really well.
“League table, they are the toughest [so far] but it is not always about the table, we had some troubles at Wolves too, but it is a challenge, for sure.”
On the back of Sunday’s clash, Liverpool travel to Germany for a Champions League clash against RB Leipzig, before the Reds face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1963756/arne-slot-liverpool-chelsea-alexander-arnold-contract