Liverpool Football Club have an interesting period of time coming up off the pitch. New boss Arne Slot has made a superb start to his tenure as manager, with his side currently sitting top of the Premier League table on 18 points, one more than Manchester City and Arsenal in second and third, respectively.
Off the pitch, however, some of their biggest stars have some important decisions to make regarding their current deal.. The contracts of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are set to expire at the end of the season.
Salah and Van Dijk would be not as much of a loss given they are 32 and 33 years old respectively. However, it would be a huge blow to lose local hero, Alexander-Arnold.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract situation
The 26-year-old England international is a product of Liverpool’s esteemed academy that has produced the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Steve McMannaman. He is the latest Merseysider off that famous production line.
The Reds’ number 66 has an extraordinary record for his boyhood club. He has played 319 times for the club, scoring 19 times and registering an incredible 83 assists. He has registered ten or more assists in the Premier League in three separate seasons.
The Englishman, who has 32 caps and four goals for his country, has been a crucial player for the Reds in recent years. He was imperative to Jurgen Klopp’s dominant Liverpool side in the late 2010s, helping win their first Premier League title and sixth European Cup.
Recent reports in Spain have suggested the right-back could make a move from Anfield to the Santiago Bernabeu and join Real Madrid on a free transfer. Los Blancos can negotiate a deal with him in January and could look to wrap it up before any other side, or Liverpool, beat them to it.
It is certainly a precarious situation for the Reds, who would no doubt love to keep hold of their star man. Not only would he leave the club, but they might not make any money on the departure, given he is set to depart on a free.
Alexander-Arnold is valued at £58.4m as per Transfermarkt, although that could be more if his contract was not set to expire, perhaps even as high as £100m. Liverpool might well have another player who could reach that value, given his performances this campaign.
Liverpool’s next £100m star
The player in question here is Netherlands midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. The 22-year-old has been in superb form under Slot this season and has been playing a relatively new role as a deep-lying midfielder.
This term, the Ajax academy graduate has played nine times for the Reds, completing 90 minutes in every single one of their games so far. He has been excellent from a defensive standpoint, using his long legs to win balls back with ease, before progressing play with line-breaking passes.
That is certainly something reflected in his stats from the 2024/25 Premier League season so far, courtesy of Sofascore. The midfielder has completed an average of 32.3 passes in the opposition’s half per 90 minutes and has won an impressive 4.9 ground duels each game.
Stat (per 90)
Gravenberch
Rice
Touches
84
52
Pass accuracy
89%
91%
Passes completed
60.9
33.3
Passes into opposition half
32.3
22.2
Ball recoveries
6
5
Tackles + interceptions
3.8
1.5
Ground duels won
4.9
1.5
He could be well on his way to becoming Liverpool’s own Declan Rice. The England international has emerged as one of the best number six and eight hybrids in world football and was sold to Arsenal from West Ham for £105m last summer, having been described as among the “top five” midfielders in the game by compatriot, Conor Gallagher.
The Gunners number 41 plays a similar role to that of the Dutch international now, and is of a similar profile – as FBref have noted, among midfielders operating in the Champions League this season – using his long limbs to retrieve the ball before progressive play or explosively carrying forwards.
Although he is worth just £33.4m, now, Gravenberch’s value as per Transfermarkt is continuing to rise thanks to his impressive performances this season, and he could well hit the £105m value of the man he is likened to, Rice, if he keeps it up.
Still only 22 years of age, the Dutchman is already looking like something of a “Rolls Royce” – as per journalist Declan Carr. If he continues these performances for the Reds this season, there is no reason why he cannot become their next player worth £100m or more.
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