Arne Slot expecting "big summer" for Liverpool after first two deals completed

Arne Slot expecting "big summer" for Liverpool after first two deals completed

Liverpool have finally wrapped up contract extensions for key duo Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot is expected to welcome some new faces once the transfer window reopens

Arne Slot has achieved his first objective by retaining two of his star players (Image: PA )

Arne Slot believes Liverpool’s summer spending is already under way with the new deals for Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah.

The Dutch boss claims that the new contracts for their top earners is part of the upcoming transfer window spend. Van Dijk, 33, joined Salah in committing the next two years of his career to the Reds after a long-running contract saga was put to bed this week.

‌

The defender had said before he signed the new deal that he expected a “big summer” at the club in a hint that there would be spending on the squad. Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Leicester in which Liverpool could win the Premier League title, Slot believes keeping the current squad together is just as important.

Article continues below

He said: “It's already a big summer now. It was a big thing - 'can we hold on to them?'. And by holding on already to two, it's already a big summer and let's see what the rest of the summer will bring.

Emphatic Jurgen Klopp response issued to next Real Madrid manager claims READ MORE:

"It would be strange for me to say now I'm not happy with the team we have, because I've said it for a year so we are happy with the team we have. Maybe if we can even keep that team that would already be a big summer."

‌

Liverpool will have to pay close to £80m across the two years for Salah and Van Dijk’s new contracts, although they’re not believed to have secured salary rises. The Reds have yet to convince Trent Alexander-Arnold to sign a new contract as Real Madrid try to lure him to Spain.

Alexander-Arnold could feature on the bench tomorrow but won’t start after only returning from an ankle injury this week. He believes the new deals for Van Dijk and Salah show the club’s ambition to keep winning while he also praised sporting director Richard Hughes for getting them over the line.

The Reds boss added: “First, by bringing these contracts over the line, he deserves credits for that, and lots of credit. Because people have spoken eight or nine months that so many things were not done right by us. In the end, we got what we wanted.”

Article continues below

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to read article