Liverpool's rebuild: two-thirds in

The contract that won't go away

Mohamed Salah is out of contract in summer 2027, and everyone knows it. His form has not given Liverpool a single argument for letting that clock run down quietly. He is not a player you manage toward the exit — he is a player you build the next chapter around, or you spend years explaining why you didn't. Slot has not been drawn on specifics publicly, but the pressure to act is self-evident. Every week Salah performs at this level is another week the negotiation gets harder to delay.

The new arrivals are doing their jobs

Florian Wirtz has found the rhythm Slot wanted — slowly at first, then all at once. The autumn-spring curve is exactly what you'd expect from a player adjusting to the Premier League's pace and physicality, and he is now past the adjustment. He is a problem for defences on a weekly basis. Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak have both delivered what their fees demanded, which in the current market is not a given. Liverpool's recruitment has, so far, held up under scrutiny.

Isak in particular carries the kind of threat that makes opposition defensive lines nervous before kick-off. Ekitiké offers something different — movement in behind, a willingness to press that fits Slot's system without needing to be coached into it. Two signings, two ticks. The rebuild is not finished, but it is not broken either.

Chelsea on Saturday, everything still open

Goal difference separates Liverpool from the top of the table. That is the kind of margin that makes a home game against Chelsea feel less like a fixture and more like a statement of intent. Slot's side have the squad depth and the tactical clarity to handle the occasion. Whether they handle the scoreline is Saturday's business.

The longer arc matters more than one result. Liverpool are two-thirds through a rebuild that was always going to ask questions of the manager, the board and the players. Most of those questions have been answered well. The Salah one is still outstanding — and it is, by some distance, the most important.