Liverpool have 120 days to avoid triple transfer nightmare that Arne Slot knows how to solve

Liverpool are in a race against time to negotiate new contracts for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah. The trio face increasingly uncertain futures at Anfield, having recently entered the final year of their contracts.

Once the January transfer window opens, foreign clubs will be eligible to begin pre-contract talks with Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah over a free transfer in the summer – unless, of course, they sign new deals with the Reds beforehand. If they do not choose to commit their long-term futures to Liverpool then the club will be forced to make a difficult decision.

The Reds will have to consider whether they'd rather risk losing the trio for free at the end of the season – if talks prolong – or cut their losses and cash-in over the festive period. FIFA regulation 18.3, on the status and transfer of players, states: "A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player's current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him.

"A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions."

Fortunately for Liverpool, in the event that Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah run down their respective deals, a player can only enter pre-contract talks with interested parties outside of England. Any player, who only has a year left on their contract, looking to move from one English team to another, can only open talks after entering the final month of their previous contract.

Domestic transfers are regulated by football associations, rather than world governing body FIFA. With that being said, though, Liverpool are still under immense pressure to tie Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah down to new deals before January 1, 2025 – that's just 124 days away!

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The former continues to be heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, meanwhile, the club captain has kept his cards close to his chest. Speaking to Sky Sports after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brentford in August, Van Dijk insisted that he remains focused on the season.

"I'm very calm," said the Netherlands international. "The thing is, you know, I want to play the best season I can again. I want to be important and stay important for the club. Whatever happens next year I will see, you know, anything happen for a reason.

"That's how I see it. For now, there's been no changes in my situation, but I'm very calm about it, and there's no reason for me to start thinking for something else, because I have a whole season to play for still, and hopefully it will be a successful one."

As for Salah, he was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia last summer but a switch failed to materialise. In fact, the Liverpool Echo understands Al-Ittihad had a verbal £150m offer for the forward rejected.

With four months or so left to tie Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah down to new deals, the Reds are in a race against time to avoid the ultimate nightmare start to life at Anfield for Slot. Earlier this month, the Dutchman was quizzed on the players' futures in an interview with Sky Sports.

"The only thing I have to do – this is what I do with all of them – is to bring the best out of them," said the Liverpool boss. "If we bring the best out of them, and they perform really well, then it's up to them if they want to sign, it's up to us [the club] if we give them a new contract."