Liverpool set to offer another new contract after Mohamed Salah breakthrough and £29m transfer
Goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros is in line to be offered a new contract by Liverpool as reward for his development this season
Expiring contracts have been a major talking point at Liverpool this season, after Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all entered the final year of their deals. But fresh from the Egyptian signing a new two-year agreement and the Dutchman closing in on an extension of his own, the Reds could be about to hand out another new contract.
The ECHO understands that goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros is now in line for a new deal, having spent the 2024/25 season serving as Liverpool’s third-choice shot-stopper following the departure of Adrian last summer.
The Czechia international made his Premier League debut as a late substitute away at Crystal Palace back in October after first-choice Alisson Becker suffered a hamstring injury. He then made his full debut for the Reds against Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup later that month.
While that remains the limit of his senior involvement this season, the 23-year-old’s hard work has not gone unnoticed and he is in line for a new contract as a result.
Contrary to suggestions elsewhere, Jaros is not currently scheduled to be out of contract this summer. The shot-stopper last signed an extension prior to joining Sturm Graz on loan for the second half of the 2023/24 season, with that deal included in the FA’s Football Agent Transactions 2024-2025 list that was publicised on Monday.
Consequently, he is already contracted to Liverpool next season, with any new contract a reward for his development with the Reds under Arne Slot and goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte.
Liverpool’s goalkeeping department is set to undergo changes this summer though, with the Reds already announcing the £29m signing of Giorgi Marmardashvili from Valencia.
Meanwhile, long-serving number two Caoimhin Kelleher, who is set to enter the final year of his contract, is expected to be granted an Anfield exit in pursuit of first-choice status elsewhere.
Should the Irishman indeed depart, it remains to be seen if Mamardashvili will serve as back-up to Alisson or whether a loan exit could be sought for the Georgia international. If it is the latter, Jaros could find himself climbing the Anfield pecking order.
Elsewhere, Trent Alexander-Arnold is considering an offer to join Real Madrid when his Liverpool contract expires this summer, while Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Kelleher are all about to enter the final year of their current deals.
Konate previously revealed that he had been offered a new contract by the Reds, but suggested he was not yet close to penning an extension.
“Who talked about that a few months ago?” he replied at a press conference when asked for an update on his contract talks back in January. “The club didn’t say anything, I didn’t say anything. It’s one person who said that.
“I was not ready, I didn’t know when he said that. But after, I spoke with the club. I think I am really focussed on what happens now. We will see what will happen.
“Yes (I have been offered a deal). This is another conversation (whether I am close to signing).”