Liverpool will be busy in the transfer market this summer but they also need to make a priority of signing six current stars to longer and bigger contracts.
We still don’t know what is going to happen to Emre Can when his contract runs out at the ned of June. There is an offer on the table from Liverpool Football Club and Jurgen Klopp claims they are still in conversation with the German midfielder.
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However the uncertainty of the situation – and the threat of losing him on a free transfer, perhaps to a Premier League rival – highlights how important it is to nail down first team players to long term deals when it is good for the club to do so.
Having a large core of first-teamers on big deals helps create stability at the club; it gives potential signings both a sense of security for the next 4-5 years and shows you get rewarded at this club when you play well.
The progress shown by Klopp’s Liverpool side this season has re-established the club as European contender and a club firmly on the rise. This has not been achieved through huge spending but through the current squad playing beyond their price tags and contracts to reach the highest level.
Now the club needs to respond to the progress of the players by devoting more resources to the players who deserve it. You can make a good argument that 7 or 8 of the current first team are on deals that don’t reach the level they are reaching on the field.
To avoid another Emre Can situation, Liverpool should prioritize these players with player friendly deals this summer. We have picked the six most important contracts for the Reds to nail down this summer.
No. 1: Roberto Firmino
But surely Mohamed Salah is first? Not for me. This is the most important thing Liverpool need to this summer. It is the most crucial signing for the immediate future if the club; tie Roberto Firmino to Anfield until his thirties.
At 26-years-old he is reaching his prime and is having the best season of his career this year. He has 25 goals and 11 assists with six or (please God) seven games left to play. That is evidence enough that he deserves a new deal; a productive center forward is always worth good money.
But we all know that his value goes beyond that. He is the maestro that dictates the tempo of the Liverpool attack. He is perfect as a fluid number nine who can interchange with the wider players with ease. He can pick the ball up deep in the ‘number 10’ spot or sit on the shoulder of the last defender.
He gives Jurgen Klopp every tactical option in his playbook. He is a perfect fit for the German manager’s system.
His work rate is becoming a Kop legend; chasing, pressing and winning back the ball. He has more tackles this season in the Premier League than every center back at a big 6 club apart from Cesar Azpilicueta. This is the number one Liverpool priority in the summer of 2018.
No.2: Mohamed Salah
Firmino should sign first. But Mohamed Salah should sign two minutes later. What a frickin player! He is having the best debut season at Liverpool I have ever seen. Forty goals. Eleven assists. There is not a defense that can stop him.
There is always a debate in football about who is world-class. Yet that is not the discussion around Mohamed Salah. Everyone and their Gran can see he is world-class. And my Gran has cataracts. The conversation has become ‘is he as good as Messi and Ronaldo?’.
And that is going to be the tricky thing for Liverpool. Sooner or later he is going to need to be paid like one of the best players in the world because he is one of the best players in the world. That means a salary north of £250k-a-week. And that is if Liverpool are lucky.
The club will be tempted to leave him on his current deal for a year or two before handing him such a big deal. But I think this summer is the time to do it. We will be doubling his salary after a very good season. That should keep him sweet for a couple of years.
When you have a player this good you have to win things now. That means doing whatever it takes to keep him happy and scoring. And we all want to see Mo Salah happy and scoring.
No.3: Sadio Mane
Let’s make it a hattrick. All the talk of ‘what is wrong with Sadio?’ or ‘this is a down season’ have vanished in the last six weeks. He has eight goals and two assists in his last ten games. That brings him to 18 goals and 8 assists for the year which is more than he scored in his 2016/17 debut season.
But much like Firmino it is his all-round contribution to the side that has really caught the eye. He has settled into the left side role and grown in willingness to work, press and support Firmino and Salah.
Take a look at the performances of the Liverpool left backs this season; Alberto Moreno had his best spell at the club before the turn of the year; Andrew Robertson has been a revelation. Do not underestimate the contribution of Sadio Mane to the success of that position this season.
Mane gives excellent defensive cover for the full back. Often teams don’t even get to test out our left back because Mane has won the ball or tracked back to block off passes down that side.
Then when he has the ball he releases the left back into the wide attacking areas. And when they do go forward he is often covering for them making sure the Reds don’t get caught on the break.
A genuine team player who approaches everything with a smile and confidence. You can’t have enough of that. Sign him now and keep this front three together for the next five years.
No.4: Andrew Robertson
Speaking of left backs… There should already be a draft contract on Klopp’s desk to double Andy Robertson’s money. Arriving from Hull City in a £8 million deal last summer, expectations were muted for the Scottish left back.
He had just been relegated and it seemed that Liverpool were going for another journeyman full back rather than addressing the position properly. For a decade the Kop has groaned as series of left backs gave the ball away in midfield or made stupid tackles in the box for penalties.
But this lad is not like those other lads. He is as fit as any player in the squad and is fast too. Strong in the tackle, tactically aware and able to contribute at a high level at both ends of the pitch.
He has four assists from left back in the Premier League this season. It would not break the bank for the club to double his current deal this June. Just remember we had James Milner at left back last season. Let’s get Robbo paid.
No.5: Loris Karius
There will be a question for the Liverpool hierarchy with the goalkeeping position this summer: stick or twist? Loris Karius has been excellent since being given the number one spot in the first team. A string of wins, saves and clean sheets means that Klopp and Kop alike are content with goalkeeper.
There was an assumption earlier in the year that Liverpool would certainly be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer. That can no longer be considered inevitable at all.
There remains the possibility that the Reds may venture into the transfer market if they think a generational goalkeeping talent is available. Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid certainly fits that bill. It is also possible that Alisson Becker qualifies for that category.
Those are two goalkeepers who make the summer interesting for the position. What Karius has done is rule out a move for a middling keeper like Jack Butland or Nick Pope. The German is as good, if not better than them.
He doesn’t have same potential as player like Oblak. But the management may feel they don’t need a world-class keeper when they already have a very good one.
The list of Premier League winning goalkeeper over the last five seasons is: Joe Hart; Thibaut Courtois; Kasper Schmeichel; Courtois & Ederson. You can get it done without a worldie. Sign Karius for the next few years and if we can get Oblak then great. If not then we’re fine.
No.6: Joe Gomez
The young defender only signed a new deal 18 months ago but a lot has happened since then. At the time that deal was one that believed in his potential. He had barely played a game for the club after spending over a year out the side with injury.
Now 18 months into this deal he has proved that his talent can go from potential to productivity. A lot will depend on how much Klopp values Gomez’ flexibility. The defender has primarily been a right back with his initial games under Rodgers at left back.
He has yet to see a decent run of games at center back; the role most believe to be his natural position. Does Klopp see him as viable option in the middle? It is hard to tell as he has been needed so regularly at right back this season.
Nathaniel Clyne has been injured for the most the year and has been Trent Alexander-Arnold learning the position. Gomez has been the most reliable option at the position for Klopp until the last month or so.
But Clyne’s return to fitness and Alexander-Arnold’s excellent progress means the manager can use Gomez in middle if he so wishes. The England manager Gareth Southgate is convinced of that potential; he has started him at center back in a back three twice this year.
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Therefore if Klopp views Gomez as legitimate cover for all three defensive positions then it is worth signing him on a better deal and let him develop into the Swiss Army Knife defender we need to have in the squad.