Liverpool should prioritise Virgil van Dijk's contract renewal over Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, former Reds striker Emile Heskey has told Sports Mole.
Arne Slot's side are on the cusp of winning the Premier League title despite the unwelcome distraction of the trio's contract situations, as they could all depart for free when their current deals expire at the end of June.
If any are to head out of Anfield, they will not be doing so with another EFL Cup winners' medal owing to Sunday's 2-1 loss to Newcastle United in the final, which Alexander-Arnold missed through injury.
Meanwhile, Salah was largely anonymous as he suffered an unwanted personal first at Wembley, but Van Dijk's performance was praised as the Dutchman made nine clearances and two interceptions, albeit to no avail.
Even though Van Dijk is the oldest out of the three, Heskey - who won six major trophies as a Liverpool player - believes that his renewal must be sorted first, saying: "I would probably prioritise Van Dijk's.
Heskey reveals why he would prioritise Van Dijk contract
© Imago
"Reason being, I would say that for me, bringing a younger player to work alongside him for the next, say, two to three years, to then pass on that baton.
"Just bringing someone in, throwing them in that deep end and them not knowing what it's all about, how to lead this team, want to be a lead can be tough. It can be very tough. So I would prioritise him."
Van Dijk has had to repeatedly bat away questions surrounding his future at Anfield, but the 33-year-old has always affirmed that he is calm and fully committed to the club as they chase Premier League glory.
Meanwhile, Salah has sent tongues wagging on a few occasions, memorably claiming that he feels more out than in of Anfield while he awaits a firm renewal offer, but Alexander-Arnold's situation is seemingly the most complex.
The England international was believed to have been the subject of a failed bid from Real Madrid at the start of the winter window, and Los Blancos are ostensibly banking on him running down his contract to join on a free.
Heskey expects Alexander-Arnold to leave Liverpool
© Imago
Heskey is fearful that Alexander-Arnold's switch to the Bernabeu is already "done and dusted", so the ex-England striker would mark Salah's new deal as the number two priority.
"Not saying that Trent's a problem, looks like it's already done and dusted he's leaving, but I would look at Mo's after that," he added. "And the reason I looked at Mo's after that, where are you going to get Mo's numbers from? That's the toughest one. And then the actual way that we play as well is going to change as well."
Slot is still unsure exactly how long Alexander-Arnold's injury will sideline him for, but the Reds boss expects the Real Madrid-linked right-back to return to action before the end of the season.
Liverpool now have a couple of weeks to conduct their EFL Cup post-mortem during the international break, after which their next Premier League game comes at home to Merseyside rivals Everton on April 2.
Emile Heskey was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetVictor Casino.
Ben Knapton
