Six Liverpool stars could walk out on club after Salah and Konate | Football | Sport
Andoni Iraola will be fearing the worst over some of his Liverpool players. (Image: Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola is confronting a potential wholesale clear-out at Liverpool, with six first-team players’ contracts due to run down next summer. Iraola was unveiled as Liverpool’s new head coach on Thursday, penning a two-year agreement with the Reds following an impressive three-year spell at Bournemouth.
His appointment came after Arne Slot’s dismissal following a disappointing second campaign in charge, 12 months on from his Premier League title win. However, Iraola will immediately have to cope without one of Slot’s first-choice defenders, Ibrahima Konate, following the Frenchman’s exit as a free agent.
The club announced last week that Konate would depart upon the expiry of his contract this summer, following negotiations over a new deal that broke down. The centre-back confirmed the following day via social media that his Anfield career was over.
However, Iraola may need to prepare himself for multiple similar departures over the coming 12 months, as six additional players’ contracts expire this time next year.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic, unless they pen fresh terms beforehand, will all depart for nothing in a year’s time.
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The situation places Iraola in an unenviable position, as he cannot be certain which of these key players he can count on in the long term.
The prospect of their exits as free transfers poses a significant financial headache for the club, with their combined market value of £74million, according to Transfermarkt.
Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk could both leave for free within two summers. (Image: Getty Images)
This predicament has been a recurring issue at Liverpool in recent years, with players running down their contracts. By failing to cash in on them early enough, their valuations nosedive as they approach the final stages of their deals, leaving the club either unable to recoup their value or, worse, the players simply walking away for nothing.
The Reds hierarchy appear not to have learned lessons from last year’s costly experience, when the futures of key trio Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold hung in the balance for much of the campaign, creating an unwelcome distraction.
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Ultimately, Alexander-Arnold was the sole departure in the summer of 2025, much to the outrage of the Anfield faithful, though the club did secure a modest fee for his move to Real Madrid before the free agency deadline.
Salah and Van Dijk subsequently penned short-term contracts, yet both men held the upper hand throughout negotiations — just as the current crop of unsettled players do now.
Iraola must act swiftly alongside Anfield’s hierarchy to establish which players are best cashed in on immediately and which he would rather retain, at the risk of potentially losing them for nothing.
