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That's because captain and stalwart Virgil van Dijk will be out of contract and, at this stage, there's no sign of the Reds offering him a new one.
No player is bigger than the club
The Dutchman will be 36 by the beginning of the 2027/28 season, and if Liverpool are serious about bringing the glory days back to Anfield on a regular basis, then making more tough decisions is something that has to be considered.
No player is bigger than a club, and that's as true for van Dijk as for anyone else. The recent departure of Mo Salah is a prime example. Players come and go, but the institution remains.
There haven't been too many players of late, however, that can command and lead a team as Van Dijk has at Liverpool.
His absence, were it to come to pass, would be hugely noticeable, particularly as there don't appear to be too many players that could fill the void that the Dutch colossus would leave behind.
Real Madrid could offer van Dijk a new home
With there still being some confusion as to exactly what will happen next for Van Dijk, reports in Spain have suggested that Real Madrid could well be interested in offering him a short-term deal, given that he would arrive as a free agent.
It isn't clear whether such a move would appeal to the player himself, though it would potentially allow him to hook up with his previous central defensive partner Ibrahima Konate.
Jose Mourinho isn't a manager who will acquire players for the sake of it either, but if he genuinely feels that Van Dijk has something to offer, then the Portuguese won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Since the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign, no one at Liverpool has started more than Van Dijk's 61 matches, with only Alexis Mac Allister being involved in more games (62).
The most reliable Liverpool player
With 5,481 minutes played, the Dutchman has been the most active squad player, which, considering his advancing years, speaks volumes for his reliability and availability.
He's also weighed in with eight goals, and only Cody Gakpo, Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike have scored more in the same time frame.
Of the 61 matches that he's played in, 19 of those have seen Liverpool keep a clean sheet, and no player has been part of a team that's stopped the opposition from scoring more often since the start of 25/26.
Van Dijk's 272 headed clearances and 396 clearances more generally are well beyond anything that his teammates have managed, and although his 34 tackles attempted are less than half of some of his colleagues, the Dutchman has still posted a 61.76% success rate, which is one of the highest in the squad.
He's also won possession back for Liverpool on 165 separate occasions, 77 of which were in the middle third of the pitch, evidencing how comfortable the centre-back is in other areas.
A 71.53% one-on-one duel success rate is miles ahead of any of his teammates, with Van Dijk winning 299 of the 418 duels he's contested.
His 323 aerial duels, of which 243 have been won, remain squad highs.
In terms of passing accuracy, van Dijk is the only Liverpool player to have attempted more than 4,000 total passes (4,396), and with 3,926 of those finding their target, his 89.31% success rate is one of the highest recorded.
One or two other colleagues have slightly higher success rates, albeit they've attempted around 2,000 fewer passes than their captain.
Age hasn't wearied him
Clearly, then, age hasn't wearied his competitive spirit, and whilst he may have lost a yard or two of pace, Van Dijk has shown that it's still perfectly possible to hit the heights in the modern game, despite not necessarily being blessed with speed.
Given the evidence of the last 15 months or so, too, Andoni Iraola and the Liverpool board need to think long and hard before they allow the club captain to up sticks and move on to pastures new.
The saying that 'you don't know what you've got until you lose it' could end up being perfectly applicable in this instance, with Los Blancos being the potential beneficiaries.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
