'It's quarter of a billion pounds worth of talent!' - Gary Neville stunned by Liverpool's contract mismanagement as Arne Slot faces losing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk for nothing this summer

Neville has been left stunned by Liverpool’s contract mismanagement, with three key players currently set to leave on free transfers at the end of the season. The Manchester United legend believes that his former club would have tied the likes of Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah down to new contracts. Instead, the trio could leave Anfield for nothing.

Liverpool’s owners, FSG, have come under increasing pressure in recent months, with questions being asked of their contract strategy given the importance of all three players. Alexander-Arnold is close to agreeing a deal to join Real Madrid, while Salah has interest from Saudi Arabia and Van Dijk has been linked with the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich.

Neville, who was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, said: "At the end of the season, it will leave Liverpool a huge hole if those three players [Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold] leave on a free. They won’t have the money to replace them, and you could argue there is a quarter of a billion pounds in those three. You’re talking about one of the best strikers in Europe, one of the best centre-halves in Europe and one of the best right-backs in Europe.

"Even as good as Liverpool have been in recruitment, that is a quarter-billion-pound hole. They’ve been good at recruitment so they could replace them, but that is a hell of a thing for Arne Slot to have to deal with.

“Liverpool are the only club that are allowed to run a player’s contract down to zero but are still doing okay. But he’s [Jamie Carragher] explained it, so we’re alright. Three of the best players in the world have got contracts running down, but Liverpool have done a great job of managing that – I’m sorry, I can’t accept that."

Liverpool must now begin planning for life without Alexander-Arnold, and potentially Van Dijk and Salah. The Reds have been linked with a number of high-profile replacements, including Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso and Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong. However, it remains to be seen whether FSG will invest heavily this summer having failed to splash the cash during Arne Slot's first two transfer windows.