“I don’t see them signing" - Paul Merson believes 3 exit-linked Liverpool superstars will leave the club if they win the Premier League this season

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson reckons Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool at the end of the season if they win the Premier League title. All three superstars are yet to sign new deals at the club, meaning they could depart Anfield as free agents in the summer.

Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold have been extremely pivotal in Liverpool's success over the past seven seasons. They have won every major trophy possible, including the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, but are yet to lift the UEFA Europa League.

Unfortunately for them, the Reds were unable to celebrate their 2020 title win with the Anfield faithful due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Merson believes if Liverpool were to seal the title this season, all three superstars would leave the club if they get the opportunity to celebrate with fans.

He told Sky Sports (via Rousing the Kop):

“Call me a cynic, I don’t think any of them sign. I think they wait and see, if they win the league, I don’t know where you go if you’re Liverpool. When Liverpool won the league in Covid it wasn’t the same. You watch them lift the trophy, the Kop wasn’t there, the fans. They hadn’t won it for a long time."

Merson added:

“If they go and win it this time in-front of their fans, I just think Salah, Van Dijk, Trent, they’ve won the Champions League, they’ve won the Premier League in-front of the fans – which will be a lot different believe me – then I don’t see them signing.”

The trio have also played a key role in helping the Reds challenge for the title this season under Arne Slot. The Merseysiders are currently at the summit of the Premier League table with 56 points from 23 games, six points above Arsenal with a game in hand.

---

"If you play in this shirt, you need to win the game" - Liverpool boss Arne Slot on whether he is preparing his players differently for EFL Cup S/F clash vs Tottenham

Arne Slot has shut down suggestions on whether he will prepare his men differently for their upcoming clash against Tottenham Hotspur. The two sides are set to square off in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals at Anfield (February 6).

The Reds faced off against Spurs in the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in January. Despite looking assured on the ball, the former suffered a 1-0 loss with Lucas Bergvall grabbing a late winner against the run of play (86').

During the pre-match press conference, Slot told the Reds' official website:

"No, I don't think I have to prepare them differently than in any other game. Because from now until the end of the season, it's been already the whole season, and I think as long as Liverpool exists, if you play in this shirt, you need to win the game. That's for tomorrow, that's for Sunday, that's for Wednesday afterwards and the game after that."

He continued:

"Even if we go 1-0 down in the league or whatever tournament we are in, we try and want to win the game. That's also what we tried in the away game against Tottenham – I think we were quite close to getting a result over there until the last few seconds, we were down to 10 and conceded a goal. Nothing changes for this game compared to others."

"If you wear this shirt, if you go out at Anfield, there is only one thing that is expected of you – and that's winning the game," Slot added.

Liverpool will be the favorite to secure a result against injury-hit Tottenham. They have a better historical record at Anfield, having remained unbeaten against Spurs in their last 14 home games, winning 10, and drawing four.