Liverpool ‘exodus’: Salah, Trent transfers mooted as Klopp exit spells ‘trouble’ for Reds
Former England international Glen Johnson fears “a big exodus at Liverpool this summer” with Jurgen Klopp set to leave the club.
Klopp recently announced his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
There have been rumours that several star players could follow the German manager out of Anfield, with Mohamed Salah linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Virgil van Dijk refused to rule out a move away from the Reds in the summer before insisting transfer talk is “silly”.
Regardless of how you feel about the rumours, Liverpool might feel a little bit anxious with several star players out of contract in 2025.
Salah and Van Dijk are among those out of contract next year, with Trent Alexander-Arnold also in that group.
It feels inevitable that Salah will end up playing in Saudi Arabia and Al Ittihad are expected to try again at the end of the season after failing to land him for £150million last summer.
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A move to the Middle East could come to fruition this summer with Klopp leaving Liverpool, but there is the possibility that Salah wishes to see out his contract at Anfield to secure a mammoth signing-on fee in 2025.
It would not be too surprising if Van Dijk and Salah leave at the end of the season, and despite his contract situation, we would be stunned to see Alexander-Arnold follow Klopp out of the door.
However, ex-Liverpool right-back Johnson thinks there is a chance that there is an “exodus” if the Reds start poorly under their new manager with Alexander-Arnold and Salah able to “attract interest from any club they want”
He told Betfred: “Let’s be real, who’s not going to take Trent Alexander-Arnold or Mo Salah on the cheap?
“I don’t believe we’ll see a big exodus at Liverpool this summer if the contract situations don’t get sorted now – which they won’t do because the players are going to want to know what’s going on.
“If they have a bad start to next season, then a year from now we will be discussing about them having six months left on their contracts. If that happens, Liverpool will be in trouble because Trent and Mo can attract interest from any club they want.
“They don’t have to take a risk and, if Liverpool have a bad season following Jurgen’s departure, then we could potentially see an exodus.”
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Johnson added that he fears that Liverpool might lose some of their swagger in the transfer market when Klopp departs.
“If Liverpool try and sign a top player in the summer, they will want to know who is replacing Jurgen,” he said.
“Jurgen pulls people in and Jose Mourinho did the same thing.
“They’re examples of managers that top players want to play for.
“You need to excite the players to encourage them to move to Liverpool. The club is a huge draw for players in its own right. But knowing who the manager is, is also very important.”
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