Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool was met with unhappiness from some players, according to journalist David Ornstein, who also provided an update on a key Reds trio.
Last week, Klopp revealed that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of this season, in what is surely one of the biggest shock decisions in the club’s history.
Thankfully, Liverpool’s form has remained imperious since then, with Norwich City thrashed 5-2 in the FA Cup and Chelsea swatted aside 4-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
It is a situation that has left many stunned, though, and speaking for The Athletic on a live stream on X [via The Boot Room], Ornstein revealed the reaction to Klopp’s news, also speaking about what it could mean with regards to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s futures:
“It’s only natural that some of those players are going to have anxieties about the situation because they don’t know who their new manager will be. They’ve not held, to our knowledge, any serious talks yet about a new contract – they’ve got their careers to think about.
“Come the summer, all three of those you mentioned are going to have 12 months to go. This news [Klopp leaving] hit them like a bolt out of the blue from what we hear, they didn’t have any advanced warning.
“I’ve had suggestions that not all of the senior players were not particularly happy about that, but I guess when you are in Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp’s shoes, you’re probably damned if you do, damned if you don’t. You tell everybody, it leaks out, you lose control of it, you don’t tell them and they get unhappy.”
Our thoughts on the future of influential Liverpool trio…
It is understandably concerning that Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah are soon to be heading into the final year of their current deals, but it would be an enormous surprise if extensions weren’t agreed.
Salah arguably feels like the favourite to depart, should big interest return from the Saudi Pro League this summer, but he could look at Jordan Henderson’s short stay in the division and see it as a warning, deciding to stay put instead.
Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool through and through, and could well see the rest of his career being at Anfield, while Van Dijk is only in his first season as captain, and is sure to want to continue in a Reds shirt for some time to come.
The Klopp news will have rocked them, which is only natural, but they are three of the most important players at the club, and extensions for them will feel as key as any new signing.
