Liverpool are reportedly set to hold imminent contract discussions with midfielder Harvey Elliott, who is still seen as a key part of Arne Slot's future plans.
The former Fulham protege has seen his future called into question of late due to his lack of minutes in the Premier League in particular, as he is still waiting for his first top-flight start of the season.
Elliott was only a second-half substitute in Saturday's 4-1 crushing of Ipswich Town, the ninth time this season that he has been brought off the bench in the Premier League, totalling just 75 minutes in the process.
The 21-year-old's only starts this term have come in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, and he previously missed two months of the campaign with a broken foot, which was recently referenced by Slot when he was quizzed on Elliott's lack of playing time.
Both Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion are said to be keeping a close eye on Elliott's situation, and it was reported that a fee of £40m could be enough for Liverpool to part ways with him in 2025.
Liverpool to sit down with Elliott this summer?
© Imago
However, Elliott is not thought to be pushing for an exit from Anfield, and Football Insider claims that the club are set to sit down with the midfielder's camp to discuss an extension this summer.
At the same time, Liverpool apparently have no intention of accepting any mid-season offers for the England Under-21 international, whom they signed for just £3.6m in the summer of 2019.
Even though Slot has been loath to start him in a Premier League game, the Dutchman supposedly still believes that he can be an integral part of the Liverpool furniture in the coming seasons.
Before making the switch to Anfield almost six years ago, Elliott made history as the youngest-ever player to play in the Premier League, a record that has since been broken by Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri.
The 21-year-old has scored 12 goals and set up 15 more in 132 matches for Liverpool across all competitions, winning seven pieces of silverware including the Premier League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
What about Liverpool's out-of-contract trio?
© Imago
While Liverpool do intend to secure Elliott's long-term future, the Englishman's terms are understandably not very high up on Richard Hughes's priority list at the minute.
The 21-year-old's deal still runs until 2027, but all of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah could leave on free transfers when the current campaign is over.
Dialogue is thought to be ongoing with the agents of all three players, but it has gone eerily quiet on the contract front over the past couple of weeks as Hughes and co do their utmost to agree extensions.
It has been theorised that Salah's extension is taking some time due to the board being fearful of a performance decline from the Egyptian, as was the case when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang extended his Arsenal contract in 2020.
Meanwhile, Van Dijk continues to insist that there are no updates on his situation when questioned, while Real Madrid are thought to be biding their time and hoping that Alexander-Arnold will run down his Reds contract.
Ben Knapton
