Liverpool have made an outstanding start to the season under new manager Arne Slot but the club are facing the threat of an upheaval in the coming months.
The Reds are sitting at the summit of the Premier League table and are looking to further prove their title credentials after the international break.
Slot has taken to managing Liverpool like a duck to water and made an instant impact on the careers of players such as Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate.
Liverpool will hope to keep the momentum going after the break as they approach big league games against Premier League rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.
However, the background noise around the futures of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk is threatening to become a distraction for the club.
Salah and Van Dijk are in their 30s and Liverpool would back themselves to replace them if they move on from the club in the next summer transfer window.
However, the Reds are desperate to prevent Alexander-Arnold from leaving given his age and quality and are wary of the fan backlash they could face if he moves on next summer.
Liverpool make progress in talks with the right-back
Real Madrid are interested in snapping up the defender but are only prepared to make a legal approach for him in January if he doesn’t sign a new deal.
Alexander-Arnold is intrigued by the opportunity of joining Real Madrid but has not decided his future yet.
Negotiations are ongoing between Liverpool and the defender’s representatives and according to Football Insider, progress has been made in talks.
They are still some way away from agreeing on terms but some forward movement has been noticed in the talks between the two sides.
Liverpool are hopeful that they will be able to convince the player to sign a new deal and stay at his boyhood club.
Real Madrid would want the player to delay the talks so that they can present their offer to him when the transfer window opens in January.
The Reds are mindful that the fans will be livid if a Liverpool-born academy product of Alexander-Arnold’s quality is allowed to walk away on a free transfer.