Sky Sports takes a look into each Premier League club and the contract decisions they will have to make next summer; Liverpool at risk of losing star trio Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold
Thursday 5 September 2024 14:51, UK
The summer transfer window has come to an end but some of the most important work for Premier League clubs is yet to be done.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Kevin De Bruyne are just a few of the world-class players that could be set to part ways with their clubs due to expiring deals at the end of the season.
Here, we take a look at the key contract situations surrounding each team in the top flight of English football as time continues to tick down.
Mikel Arteta's focus will lie within the midfield as Thomas Partey and Jorginho approach the end of their respective deals at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Merino's £31.6m arrival from Real Sociedad adds congestion to the middle of the park and decisions much be made regarding the futures of the expiring duo.
Raheem Sterling will also have from now until the end of the season to make a lasting impression in north London, with no obligation to buy inserted into his Deadline Day move from Chelsea.
While the importance of Kortney Hause and Robin Olsen's expiring deals next summer won't be top of the priority list, Villa will have one eye on the summer of 2026.
Emi Buendia. Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos and Lucas Digne will be high earners at the club and the return Unai Emery's side could get for any potential sale, if they want to cash in, will significantly decrease once they enter the final year of their deals.
Adam Smith, 33, marks the lone contract decision the Cherries will have to make ahead of the summer. Smith will have been at the club for more than a decade once this deal expires and continues to feature in Andoni Iraola's plans, with his latest outing arriving off the bench during the 3-2 win against Everton.
Despite the transfer saga involving Ivan Toney finally coming to an end, Thomas Frank must continue to think about outgoings within his squad with Christian Norgaard, Josh Dasilva and Ben Mee all currently heading for the exit door as things stand.
Defender Joel Veltman, who was involved in Declan Rice's red card incident at the Emirates, will likely be the priority in terms of contract negotiations for Fabian Hurzeler's side.
Meanwhile, a decision regarding Tariq Lamptey's future at the Amex Stadium, after being limited to just 13 starts in the Premier League across the last season, is looming for the hierarchy at the club.
Expiring deals aren't really an issue at Stamford Bridge due to the length of contracts being offered by the club. The newly signed nine-year deals for Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson being clear examples of this.
The obligation to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal from Manchester United, after sealing a loan move to the club on Deadline Day, will also reportedly be triggered if Chelsea finish within the top 14 teams in the Premier League.
The Eagles could be one of the more active teams in immediate negotiations. Tyrick Mitchell's deal will expire in the summer but attention must also shift to Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze - who have two and three years left on their deals respectively - which will likely spark transfer interest from across the globe.
Newcastle United came close to signing Guehi and if the club want to avoid similar situations in the future, extending their current terms will be key.
Many teams would look at contracts ticking down as an issue but for Everton it offers them a chance to reset their squad - which they may vitally need.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye, Joao Virginia, Ashley Young, Seamus Coleman and Asmir Begovic are the players all potentially heading for the exit door.
Adama Traore's start to the 2024/25 season, with one goal and one assist across his two games, could prompt Fulham to trigger the one-year extension option that was inserted into his deal when he first arrived at Craven Cottage in 2023.
Forward Raul Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius also hold similar options in their deals.
It's been a busy few months of recruitment for the Tractor Boys following their promotion to the Premier League and they might not be done there, with nine first-team players currently out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
This includes the expiring loan deals of midfield duo Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste, although the latter will reportedly be converted to a permanent deal if certain conditions are met.
Jamie Vardy might be approaching his 38th birthday but after pushing forward his comeback from injury, due to his side having no recognised striker at the time, and then going on to score the crucial equaliser in their Premier League opener against Tottenham, his importance to the side is still clear to see.
New terms with a possible route into coaching should be discussed.
A lot was made of Liverpool's transfer business - or lack of - during the summer, but it's arguably the business they can do within the walls of Anfield that are most important now.
First-team trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all on expiring deals and while the right-back is yet to comment on his future, his veteran team-mates have been open about the latest developments.
Speaking to Sky Sports following the 3-0 victory against Manchester United - where he had a hand in all of the goals - Salah claimed it would be "last year" at Anfield and that "nobody has talked" to him about a new deal.
However, the latest development is the club are reportedly eyeing contract talks with the Egyptian international.
Meanwhile, Van Dijk has emphasised he is "calm" about the situation despite there currently being no changes.
City's focus will likely lie with the futures of midfield duo Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, following the latter's recent return to the Etihad Stadium on a one-year deal, as apposed to the only other expiring deal which lies with veteran goalkeeper Scott Carson.
De Bruyne was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia but continues to remain relaxed about his future at the club.
Speaking to a Belgian newspaper, the player spoke about the rumours of a potential exit. "It's hard to say now [what my next move will be]," he said. "We will be sitting around the table in the coming months.
"I signed my contract at the right time. If you get a good offer and you tell Pep [Guardiola] you want to leave, that is possible. This may be different at other clubs. But I have never indicated that I want to leave.
Similar to several other clubs in the league, the current contract situation at Old Trafford could allow new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to reset the squad at his disposal.
Harry Maguire, Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Tom Heaton and Amad Diallo are all up for renewal, with Diallo and Maguire the likeliest to stay at the club given the options for a further 12 months that were inserted when they first arrived.
Eddie Howe's side must find the fine balance of making room for further investment in the squad and keeping vital players that add both depth as well as quality.
Sean Longstaff. Callum Wilson, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Jamaal Lascelles, Emil Krafth and Martin Dubravka are all players that have played a role in the success of the club in recent years and could all walk away for free if fresh terms aren't agreed.
Nuno Espirito Santo will likely want to keep defenders Willy Boly and Ola Aina at the City Ground, while the option to purchase loan signing Alex Moreno from Aston Villa will allow the club to assess his impact in the east Midlands.
No such clause was inserted into the move West Ham's James Ward-Prowse.
The Saints will need to avoid relegation from the Premier League before focusing on the futures of players such as Jan Bednarek, Kyle Walker-Peters and Adam Lallana.
Their individual roles in a potential survival run could prove pivotal in contract decisions at St Mary's.
All eyes will be on any developments with Heung-min Son's contract, with the club reportedly set to trigger a one-year extension on his deal.
He's only grown in importance since Harry Kane departed the club and Ange Postecoglou can't afford to lose another captain of the team.
Ben Davies should also be in talks, given the versatility he provides the Tottenham boss across the backline.
Long-term servants Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski and Vladirmir Coufal could be approaching the end of their times at the club, while it's fair to suggest Danny Ings' time in east London has not worked out.
Whether or not new boss Julen Lopetegui will keep some of these familiar faces around, after all being involved in some capacity during the early stages of the season, remains to be seen.
Wolves ultimately have flexibility within the next 12 months. The deals for Jorgen Strand Larsen and Carlos Forbs both include options to make them permanent if conditions are met, while newly-appointed captain Mario Lemina also holds an option to extend his stay by a further year.
Decisions will need to be made on merit for Pablo Sarabia, Craig Dawson, Daniel Bentley and Nelson Semedo depending on their impact this season.
