David Ornstein teases Liverpool fans with early Christmas present as huge contract update drops | OneFootball

It’s still another three weeks to Christmas Day, but David Ornstein may have provided Liverpool fans with the dream early present on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the Reds’ commanding nine-point lead in the Premier League and 100% record in the new-look Champions League, supporters have been left sweating on the futures of crucial trio Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who each have just seven months remaining on their current contracts.

As it stands, non-English clubs can speak to those three players about a potential pre-contract agreement four weeks from today, but there’s now genuine hope that at least one of them could have their future at Anfield sorted out before then.

Ornstein reveals Liverpool contract offer

Taking to X on Wednesday lunchtime with a seismic update for Liverpool fans, Ornstein posted: “Liverpool have made a contract offer to Virgil van Dijk. Opening proposal some time ago – no breakthrough yet on deal value or length but talks continue. Salah offer anticipated soon. #LFC dialogue also ongoing with Alexander-Arnold.”

The tweet included his corresponding article for The Athletic in which he expanded on each of the points summarised above, although the opening offer to the Dutch defender hasn’t met his expectations, so it appears that a few crucial details need to be altered.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Ornstein update on Van Dijk feels significant

With Ornstein being one of the most trusted and authoritative journalists in football, this update will feel very significant for Liverpool fans whose patience has been stretched by the slow rate of progress on the contract situations for three of the club’s most important players.

There’s no indication as to how apart Van Dijk’s expectations are from the offer which was made to him, but the hope is that it’s narrow enough for a mutually satisfactory agreement to be reached soon.

The journalist’s teaser that Salah could be shortly offered a new deal will also have Reds supporters crossing their fingers in anticipation, especially after the 32-year-old publicly declared following the recent win over Southampton that this had yet to happen.

It does appear from Ornstein’s update as though a contract offer for Trent isn’t imminent, which may be a concern with only 28 days of the year remaining, but at least an ‘ongoing’ dialogue leaves the door open for a potential breakthrough in the near future.

If nothing else, these developments show that Liverpool chiefs are getting somewhere with the contractual negotiations for the crucial trio, and there now seems a plausible chance that at least one of them will commit their future to the club by the end of December. Now wouldn’t that be quite the Christmas present!