‘Possibility’… Danny Murphy suggests two players may now be tempted to follow Jurgen Klopp out of Liverpool

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Following the news that Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, everything suddenly feels unclear at Anfield.

Whereas previously Reds fans had been safe in the knowledge that Klopp would likely be at the club for at least two more years, things have now been turned on their head.

Perhaps the biggest immediate ramification of Jurgen leaving is the contract situations of three very senior players. Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all seen as part of Liverpool’s group of ‘untouchable’ players. As things stand, all three are out of contract in less than 18 months.

With Klopp on board, confidence would have been high that Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold in particular would stick around. But speaking to TalkSPORT yesterday, former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy says that those two players could now have their ‘heads turned.’

“If you’re talking the cream of the crop, people like Trent or Virgil van Dijk, that type of level. I think there’s always the possibility that other big clubs will want them and therefore might be able to turn their heads, a Real Madrid for example,” Murphy says.

“Generally, I think that the manager’s a really important piece of keeping players at clubs. But if you’re at Liverpool, there’s so much other than the manager keeping you there isn’t there.”

Liverpool in danger of losing players

This is likely to be a real and genuine concern among Liverpool fans now. As Murphy says, there are of course other things keeping players at the club, but Klopp was a huge part of that.

With Jurgen on board, it always felt that the Reds had a trump card to play in terms of attracting top, top players.

His prior relationship with Kylian Mbappe is pretty much the only reason we keep seeing the PSG superstar linked, for example.

But now, it isn’t out of the question that some players will see this as a signal to end their own associations with the club.

However, in the cases of both Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, those fears shouldn’t be too pronounced. The former has just been named captain and will surely want to wear the armband for more than one single year.

Trent on the other hand is Virgil’s vice, and also has a clear emotional connection to the club. He wouldn’t leave just on a whim.

Despite those factors, this worry will remain until both players sign on for an extension.

As for Salah, his situation is slightly different. It was always a distinct possibility that this would be his last season at Liverpool even with Klopp around. The boss leaving may yet be the straw that broke the camel’s back, though. In all three cases, let’s hope not.