Look, Mohamed Salah has scored at Vicarage Road. It’s 3-2.
It was August 2017. On his Liverpool debut, a former Chelsea flop took the first steps of an odyssey that continues to this day. Of course, Liverpool didn’t manage to hold on that day, plugged back by Miguel Britos’ controversial 96th-minute equaliser, but that doesn’t matter anymore.
It was, in many ways, the real genesis of Liverpool’s glory days, with Jurgen Klopp assembling a world-class strikeforce in its infant stage, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino also scoring for a side that had no clue what lay ahead.
Mane and Firmino’s ships have sailed but Salah still reigns supreme in the Premier League, remaining after Klopp left in the summer and starting life under Arne Slot with aplomb, posting three goals and three assists across just three opening fixtures.
1.
Mohamed Salah
44
25
0.56
2.
Darwin Nunez
54
18
0.33
3.
Cody Gakpo
53
16
0.30
4.
Diogo Jota
32
15
0.47
5.
Luis Diaz
51
13
0.25
32 years young. The athletic phenomenon looks as good as he ever has, and he’s not the only long-serving Liverpool stalwart making a positive impression.
Indeed, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s vice-captain, continues to thrive for club and – in a newfound capacity – country. He’s one of football’s finest technicians. He’s world-class. He’s only 25, but his valuation, as recorded by Transfermarkt, has skyrocketed over the years.
1 Trent's market value in 17/18
The year that started it all. Liverpool’s 2017/18 season would end in dejection in a Gareth Bale-fuelled Real Madrid victory in the Champions League final, not helped by Loris Karius, but Alexander-Arnold took steps onto the senior stage, and Liverpool knew they had a new star.
The 17-year-old’s expertly dispatched free-kick against Hoffenheim was just the beginning, and at that same time, when Salah scored his debut goal, this young lad was valued at a paltry £1m.
2 Trent's market value in 18/19
Transfermarkt’s lowly £1m valuation one year before lifted to €25m (£21m), but his efforts across the campaign let Liverpool fans know they had a special player in their midst.
Up until the end of the 2018/19 season, Klopp’s Liverpool were a talented and exciting bunch, but not the stuff of champions; having fallen against Los Blancos in last year’s Champions League final, few envisaged the Reds would return and vanquish their demons.
‘Corner taken quickly.’ We all know it. Alexander-Arnold went from strength to strength, showcasing his prodigious playmaking powers and earning acclaim.
3 Trent's market value in 19/20
Trent’s efforts in winning Europe’s elite club competition were nice and all that, but Klopp’s boys had developed a hankering for silverware and were bothered by missing out on the Premier League title by a single point, to Manchester City.
Alexander-Arnold posted four goals and 13 assists in the division that year, which was instrumental in clinching the highest place on the podium. His efforts the year before had sent his value soaring toward the elite level, with Transfermarkt indeed valuing him at €80m (£69m) in the summer of 2019. Spoiler alert: it rose higher still.
4 Trent's market value in 20/21
Klopp’s dynasty did have its peaks and valleys, and the 2020/21 campaign was one of frustration as the Premier League champions were ravaged by injuries, though they did pull off a great escape in their own right to claim a top-four spot against all the odds.
In a COVID-affected world, Alexander-Arnold endured some hardship, though he did begin the campaign with a frankly absurd market value of €110m (£93m), which really does underscore just how special he is.
5 Trent's market value in 21/22
Bounce back. Liverpool restored their position as behemoths of the European game and returned to the ascendancy. Two trophies were won this year and Alexander-Arnold was on fire, the right-back clinching 21 goal contributions across 47 matches.
Defensive frailties and Liverpool’s overall poor performances the year before pulled the 25-year-old’s value back down to earth, however, still, it stood at a commendable €75m (£63m).
6 Trent's market value in 22/23
This was a low point. Alexander-Arnold was among the most rebuked Liverpool players during the nadir of Klopp’s tenure. Liverpool capitulated and missed out on Champions League football after finishing fifth.
Patchy form and shoddy defending characterised the term, with the Reds possibly burned out after the agonising near misses of the year before.
Much of the criticism headed Alexander-Arnold’s way was undue, for he still popped up with some magical moments, offered world-class creativity and was hailed as a “genius” by Reds reporter Neil Jones.
His market value stood at €80m (£69m) at the start of the campaign but hit its lowest ebb after the off-season.
7 Trent's market value in 23/24
Klopp revamped Liverpool’s midfield, a realm that Alexander-Arnold started to step into with greater regularity, flaunting his glittering range of passing.
Liverpool’s resurgent side weren’t always treated to the maestro’s performances, for he missed a chunk due to injury, but Klopp praised him for his “world-class” quality, and rightly so.
The woes of the season before meant that he started the season with a market worth of ‘just’ €65m (£55m), which is still a considerable valuation, but he resided in the penultimate year of his £180k-per-week contract and only renewal would see him return to the summit of football’s priciest players.
8 Trent's market value in 24/25
At the time of writing, it’s September 2023. Where’s that contract, Mr. Hughes? Apologies for the levity but do try not to fret. The aforementioned Salah is the first of Liverpool’s central trio to receive contractual attention, and there’s tentative promise with that one, but let’s just wait and see, ay?
Back to Trent, who is finally getting the Three Lions recognition he deserves, performing with audacious gusto for club and country. The city-born superstar’s situation is probably the most concerning of the lot, not least because Real Madrid lurk, interested in snapping up another elite talent on a free transfer.
It simply cannot happen. Alexander-Arnold, despite his present situation, has a market value of €70m (£59m), but just imagine what would happen if Liverpool got him to scribble that nib and spell his signature.
To put it another way, just imagine what would happen if Liverpool can’t get him to do exactly that.
Klopp sold Liverpool star for £6.5m, he's now outscored Chiesa since 2021
The club may regret allowing the talent to depart Anfield.
1 ByEthan Lamb