Liverpool ambassador Michael Owen warns the club against selling their “difference makers” Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah this summer

Michael Owen claimed Liverpool needs to secure the future of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah instead of selling them. Owen believes both Van Dijk and Salah are the important “difference makers” and essential for the Reds to remain competitive.

Salah and captain Van Dijk alongside vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold are the three important players with one year of contract remaining. The Reds need to act immediately to secure their future or they face two difficult choices for their key assets.

No new contract would mean they will either lose their top assets as a free agent or sell them now. Liverpool cannot afford to lose their assets for free as they operate under a restricted budget and require sales revenue.

Owen told AceOdds (via Dazn) that Liverpool needs to secure the future of their “elite players” or risk falling behind their rivals. He said:

“It all depends on what terms and things like that, doesn’t it. There’s always fans out there that are so desperate that say , ‘Just give them whatever they want, out there who a’ and I’m not a person who thinks that, of course. But you’ve got to keep the difference makers. You’ve got to find difference-makers. Liverpool have probably got three or four in their team that are the difference between, being a decent team and a great team. And every team is the same. There will be good players, great players, and then there’s just the absolute elite, and Virgil Van Dijk is the absolute elite. Mo Salah in his position, is the absolute elite. If you take both of them out of the team, they’re not going to win the league next year.”

Liverpool suffered a drastic drop in form during the latter stages of the last season which exposed their vulnerabilities. The Reds conceded many goals due to complacency in defence while offensively their forwards wasted too many chances.

Salah continued his prolific form but his inconsistencies and struggle with injuries created a big concern for the club. While Salah still has a lot to offer, Liverpool needs to have a competitive solution that can eventually succeed him.

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Meanwhile, Van Dijk will be 33 in July and he needs a proper successor to challenge him next season. Nevertheless, the best solution for the Reds is to find mutual ground with a new contract that benefits all parties.

As Arne Slot succeeds legendary and beloved manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool cannot afford more big changes in quick succession. Salah and Van Dijk could help Slot.