RIDDLE ME THIS...

Just how do you solve a problem like losing TAA

- SIMON MULLOCK

LIVERPOOL boss Arne Slot has admitted convincing Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk to sign new contracts at the club has eased the pain of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Both Salah and Van Dijk signed two-year deals last month - only for born-and-bred Scouser Alexander-Arnold to tell the newly-crowned champions that he wants to seek a new challenge when his current agreement expires at the end of June.

Alexander-Arnold is heading for Real Madrid but Slot said: "If I had to choose between replacing one of the three or all three, I would have definitely picked the first option.

"Of course, I was hoping all three of them would stay, so it's still a bit of a disappointment that one of them decided to leave this club. But I'm very, very happy that Mo and Virgil extended their contracts and that should not be forgotten." Losing Alexander-Arnold, 26, for nothing is a huge blow for the club when the right-back would be worth in excess of £70million in the transfer market.