Edwards Faces Contract Domino Effect After Salah and Van Dijk Extensions | OneFootball

Salah and Van Dijk Renewals Set the Tone, But Could Come at a Cost

As Liverpool prepare to crown a historic 20th league title in the coming days, the club has moved swiftly to secure the futures of two of its most defining figures. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk—icons of the Jürgen Klopp era and still vital to Arne Slot’s emerging regime—have signed new two-year extensions reportedly worth around £400,000 per week. The symbolism is potent and has for the moment closed the door on many negatives that usually start with FSG out. Continuity, leadership, and excellence are being rewarded and the club is acting like a team intent on sustained success with financial rewards being handed out accordingly. But with those landmark deals comes a ripple effect that Sporting CEO Michael Edwards and Director of Football Richard Hughes must now carefully manage.

Contract Contagion and the Domino Effect

In elite footballing squads, contracts are rarely viewed in isolation and can create problems in the dressing room. Salaries are as much about perceived value as they are about production, and the moment Salah and Van Dijk committed to new terms, a message was sent—both within and beyond the dressing room.

Ibrahima Konaté, arguably one of Europe’s most athletic and aggressive centre-backs, has already entered talks to renew a few which have just over two years left. Luis Díaz is about to enter the final two years of his current deal, and with reported interest from abroad, a decision will soon need to be made: extend, sell, or risk losing value.

Then there’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and the infamous unsigned contract to remain on Merseyside. While discussions with the club continue, the prospect of a move to Real Madrid looms large. If Trent does leave, it won’t just create a tactical void—it will disrupt the internal balance. The Scouser in the team, a local icon and creative cornerstone of Arne Slot’s predecessor, earning less than many around him? That’s a tension Edwards will be keen to avoid, regardless of how amicable the potential departure might be.

Level with that elite tier, players like Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson Becker remain foundational pieces of this Liverpool side. Both are under long-term contracts, but their performances—and increasing importance—may prompt their representatives to push for improved terms. For Mac Allister, the case is statistical and stylistic. For Alisson, it’s legacy—he remains, arguably, the best goalkeeper in the world.

Edwards and Hughes: Walking the Tightrope

It’s easy to hand out new contracts in the glow of a title. It’s far harder to balance ambition with financial control in a wage structure that must serve both present dominance and future planning. That’s the delicate task facing Edwards and Hughes—a task complicated by the fact that many of the most significant negotiations (Salah, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold) were inherited, not initiated.

So far, they’ve acted with clarity and patience. Arne Slot’s appointment was bold and unorthodox, yet it already appears insightful and immediately rewarding. The medical and fitness departments have seen much-needed reform in the wake of so many departures from the AXA Training Centre. And the recruitment operation, while still in transition, has shown signs of smart recalibration under Hughes. The Salah and Van Dijk extensions represent not just continuity, but stability to a group that is on the cusp of further development. Now comes the harder part: deciding who fits into the next phase of Liverpool’s evolution—and who does not.

A Summer of Strategy, Not Sentiment

This summer’s transfer window could well define the Edwards-Hughes era and the next force in English football. The goal isn’t to stockpile talent or appease every agent, despite the wants of an impatient fanbase. It’s to shape a Liverpool squad that can sustain itself in Slot’s image—a group that blends tactical intelligence with elite athleticism, and a culture that prizes merit as much as memory.

There will be pressure to reward key figures, and rightly so. But the strength of this rebuild lies in how disciplined the executives remain in the closed offices. With Salah and Van Dijk secured, the club now has its leadership spine intact. But if others want similar rewards, they must offer more than just potential—they must embody the future.

The contracts handed out in the coming months will define not only Liverpool’s wage bill but its identity. Slot’s vision is beginning to emerge. Edwards and Hughes must now ensure that what surrounds it is not simply expensive, but essential.