Liverpool told Trent Alexander-Arnold 'easier' to replace than Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk as Real Madrid wait patiently for England star's final decision on future

The three Liverpool stars, Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk are in the final year of their contracts at Anfield and the club are yet to initiate talks of extension with the players. The full-back is closely linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer and if the Reds do not make progress in their contract talks, he will join the Spanish giants as a free agent.

Speaking on Liverpool's contract deadlock, former Reds and Chelsea midfielder Bolo Zenden told casinoscout.nl: "With Trent, it's a difficult one because Trent is homegrown. Trent is from the hood, from the club. It will be difficult to see him leave if he leaves. Has he decided to leave? I'm not sure. I think if you have the opportunity to stay at Liverpool you probably will. There's been enough examples of players who stayed at Liverpool all their careers. If he does decide he wants to try a new experience, I think his position is a little bit easier to find a replacement for. I don't mean for one second that he's not good enough or that I want to see someone else, come in, it’s just a fact and in Conor Bradley, they have a youngster who is a magnificent understudy to Trent. When Trent’s been injured, Bradley did an okay job.

"Then you have Mo. We talk about his numbers once again this season. You cannot imagine replacing Salah with anybody else who could do exactly the same, there isn’t a player in world football that can do what he can do at the moment in terms of goals and assists. He’s a difficult one to replace. If he leaves on a free, it’s a nightmare situation for the club because we’re talking about a player that you can’t put a monetary value on. To sign anyone close to his level, and there’s nobody, Liverpool will have to put down big money and they still wouldn't have the assurances that he will perform. Liverpool should try everything to keep him, but he's mentioned himself several times that it's his last season, that he will leave the club."

The Netherlands international added: "In an ideal world they would all stay. I'm a big fan of all three of them. I already mentioned that Van Dijk has been very important for Liverpool. Organising the backline, being the leader he is. He's a crowd favourite. We'll have to wait and see. I think sometimes it's a mind game to get a little bit of a better contract.

"Say that you're leaving and then get the crowd behind you. I mean, it's obvious that no one wants Salah to leave, but if it's an economic choice, then there’s not much you can do. Sometimes it's also about the contract duration. Maybe the club is offering a season or two, and he wants four. It's not always easy to understand what's going on behind the scenes."

The Merseyside club will be back in action in the Premier League on Wednesday as they host Newcastle United at Anfield.