Contracts have never been as big a point of discussion at Liverpool as they have over the past 12 months.
With Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold all entering the final months of their respective deals this season, it was all anyone could talk about.
Ultimately, Liverpool retained Van Dijk and Salah, while Alexander-Arnold opted to slink out of the back door to Real Madrid.
Although Meatloaf once declared that ‘two out of three ain’t bad’, Liverpool fans disagreed, roundly booing Alexander-Arnold for his decision during last week’s clash against Arsenal at Anfield.
However, although they may have lost their starting right-back of almost a decade, Liverpool have already found themselves not one, but two new players to fill the position.
Jeremie Frimpong is on the verge of joining from Bayer Leverkusen, while Conor Bradley deservedly signed a new contract with Liverpool on Saturday. With the ink not yet dry on Bradley’s deal, however, Reds fans spotted a slightly worrying detail about the youngster’s extension.
Liverpool fans question Conor Bradley contract length
Part of the reason Liverpool fans are so upset with Alexander-Arnold is that it has felt like the Scouser has engineered his exit to Real Madrid over the past two or three years.
Some are going even further back than that, declaring that Alexander-Arnold’s decision to sign a four-year deal instead of committing to five in 2020 was with the idea of leaving on a free this summer.
While there may or may not be anything in those claims, what is certain is that Bradley has also signed a four-year contract, leaving some fans on social media site X with palpable anxieties.
“Only 4 years? Not Trent all over again,” said one supporter. “A young right-back only signing a 4 year deal. What could possibly go wrong,” posed another.
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“Why four years when we can give him 10 years,” someone else weighed in, with another echoing that “it should be 6 years minimum.”
“Why only 4 years? Must be 8 years, so the players can’t leave for free again,” another argued, with more fans echoing the same sentiment.
“Any reason in a world where clubs are giving players longer deals to stop them leaving for free, we are giving them shorter deals?” someone questioned.
“People are genuinely scarred by Trent Alexander-Arnold that they’re worried about Conor Bradley’s 4-year deal,” another summed up.
“Bradley’s contract until 2029 with a team option for one more year, right?” another posed, hopefully.
Conor Bradley reacts to contract extension
Although Liverpool supporters were, perhaps fairly, a little worried by the length of Bradley’s deal, there’s no denying that this is still great news for the club.
With Alexander-Arnold on the way out, Liverpool have tied down his replacement and are on the verge of adding another option.
And speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after penning his new deal, Bradley shared his excitement about the future.
“To sign another contract, I’m very proud and happy to see what the next steps on our journey together will be,” he said. “You’ve just got to keep your head down and keep working hard.
“It has been a fantastic two years [with the senior team]. Especially since coming back from loan and doing so well last year and continuing that on this year. It’s been really good. So, hopefully we can keep going and keep making more memories.”
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