What's going on at Liverpool?! Still no new signings after Martin Zubimendi snub while futures of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah cast dark cloud over Anfield despite Arne Slot's successful pre-season

Slot has done an excellent job to date silencing those who questioned his credentials as a worthy successor to Jurgen Klopp, but the fact that Liverpool remain the only Premier League team yet to sign a single player this summer is undeniably concerning.

Van Dijk made no secret of his belief that the club "should make some signings based on how long the season will be", arguing that the 2023-24 campaign unravelled because "towards the end we were lacking experience and lacking quality, there were some injuries here and there, and multiple things that didn’t go our way."

It's difficult to disagree. Last summer's midfield overhaul went very well indeed, but competing on four fronts up until March took a heavy toll on the squad, with Klopp having to lean heavily on the 'kids' to win the Carabao Cup.

The German may have left Liverpool in rude health, but it was clear that the gap to Manchester City - and even Arsenal - could only be bridged by strengthening in a few key areas this summer.

Van Dijk did acknowledge that new sporting director Richard Hughes & Co. were "working very hard behind the scenes" and insisted that he remains "fully convinced that they will do the right thing for us and get the best possible squad in order to compete in every competition that we are in."

It would certainly come as a big surprise if the window closed without Liverpool having brought in at least a couple of new faces - but we now know that Martin Zubimendi won't be one of them, with the Real Sociedad midfielder having rejected the chance to move to Anfield.

According to reports, Hughes had been assured that the Spain international was willing to leave his hometown club but the pressure applied by the Basque side prompted a dramatic change of heart that has left Liverpool red-faced.

Of course, one could argue that if Zubimendi had doubts over moving to Merseyside, then he probably wasn't the right kind of character for the club anyway. However, this very public snub is a hammer blow for Slot, given the squad he inherited from Klopp has been crying out for a world-class No.6 since Fabinho's exit last year.

However, it's also a PR disaster for Hughes. Just five days before the start of the Premier League season, he's neither completed a single signing nor managed to agree new deals with three of Liverpool's most important players.

Van Dijk is one of the trio, with the skipper telling reporters after the Sevilla game that "there is no change at the moment" in relation to questions over the Dutchman's contractual situation.

Obviously, the Netherlands centre-back has only just returned to Merseyside after three weeks' holiday and he openly admitted that it took him some time to get over his nation's Euro 2024 semi-final loss to England.

However, it's nonetheless worrying that Liverpool's leader is no closer to agreeing a new deal and will be in a position to discuss a free transfer with other clubs from January 1 onwards, particularly as Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold find themselves in the exact same scenario.

Of the three, Salah actually appeared the most likely to depart at the tail end of the last season. For arguably the first time in his career, the Egyptian appeared to be struggling physically, having seen his campaign severely hindered by the injury he suffered during the Africa Cup of Nations.

With just one year left on his contract, it felt like the time was right for Liverpool to allow Salah, 32, to complete his long-mooted move to Saudi Arabia. It certainly would have suited everyone involved from a financial perspective.

However, the disappointing end to the campaign only appears to have strengthened Salah's resolve to stay at Anfield. He's looked like his old self in pre-season and the word is that he feels as if he has unfinished business in both the Premier League and the Champions League. Consequently, as soon as he made it clear that he had no intention of leaving Liverpool, it was widely reported that Salah would extend his contract.

No agreement has yet been reached, though, and it's a similar story with Alexander-Arnold.

The belief is that Liverpool's homegrown hero wants to continue at the club and there have been rumours that the two parties are close to agreeing an extension that will see Alexander-Arnold receive a significant pay rise.

However, the constant links with Real Madrid refuse to go away, not least because the 25-year-old is such good friends with fellow England international Jude Bellingham, the former Liverpool transfer target that ended up leaving Borussia Dortmund for the Bernabeu instead.

It's easy to understand why Alexander-Arnold would at least be tempted by a switch to the Spanish capital, and it wouldn't be the first time Liverpool lost an academy graduate to Los Blancos.

“I had a similar thing at that stage of my career and I decided that it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up," former Reds striker Michael Owen told Casino Hawks. “I don't know if it’s an opportunity for Trent or a possibility, but he'd have a lot to think about if they came in for him.

“Having said that, he's so ingrained into Liverpool and the fans love him, he’s grown up with the club and it’s such a strong connection. It’s only Real Madrid that could make him have a think, if not then you’d have to assume he’ll be at Liverpool forever. I hope that is the case but he might have a decision to make.”

Of course, the hope remains that Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah will all end up extending their contracts. Van Dijk and Salah may not be local lads like Alexander-Arnold, but they are honorary Scousers at this stage, having formed such a strong connection with the club and played such a pivotal role in the Klopp era. They clearly want to continue at Anfield.

The supporters will also cling to the belief that the backroom team know what they're doing here and that there's no reason to hit the panic button - yet. Michael Edwards is back at the club in an even more powerful position, having taken over as Fenway Sports Group's new chief executive of football, and he proved during his previous spell as sporting director that he has something of a Midas touch in the transfer market.

However, the mere fact that Liverpool will kick off their campaign at Ipswich on Saturday with no new faces, and three of their most important players having entered the final year of their respective contracts, cannot be portrayed as anything but a failure.

The window does, at least, remain open for another three weeks but it's already being reported that Liverpool have not lined up any alternatives to Zubimendi, which just beggars belief, given it's clear that the team needs a specialist six.

Decisions also need to be made over the renewals - and soon rather than the later. Otherwise, they risk becoming constant distractions that will only hinder Slot's attempts to enjoy a successful debut season at Liverpool.

The results and, more importantly, the performances the new boss has produced so far have generated plenty of excitement, but it's strengthening and stability that the Reds need more than anything else right now. The sun may have been shining brightly at Anfield on Sunday afternoon but there's a dark cloud looming large on the horizon right now.