Three of Liverpool's biggest stars are out of contract soon but Arne Slot is still smiling about it

Mohamad Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have entered the final months of their contracts at Liverpool and can leave as free agents at the end of the season.

Yet, manager Arne Slot still found time to joke about the situation on Friday when quizzed about their futures.

“It’s the same boring answer as always and I could really understand if you ask me this once every two weeks but if you ask me this after two or three days again then you still get the same answer and people feel that I’m boring them,” Slot told reporters at his media conference ahead of Saturday's game against Crystal Palace. “So, try it after the international break again.”

Questions about Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold will only grow as the season goes on and their contracts run down. All three will be able to talk to potential suitors outside of England from January.

All three are Liverpool icons given their roles in leading the Merseyside club to its first league title in 30 years in 2020 and having won the Champions League the season before.

Alexander-Arnold is a home-grown talent and, at the age of 26, a player whose best years are likely ahead of him.

In the cases of Salah, 32, and Van Dijk, 33, Liverpool are dealing with players at the latter stages of their careers, who are unlikely to have any sell-on value if handed long-term deals.

Those are factors that Liverpool executives such as football CEO Michael Edwards will have to consider.

Salah, who has consistently been linked with a move to the Saudi League, has been in outstanding form this season, with six goals in nine games as Liverpool has risen to the top of the Premier League and made a perfect start in the Champions League. If he is not to be offered a new deal, a January move would be a final chance to realize a financial return on the forward, who cost around $50 million when signed from Roma in 2017.

That would have a potentially detrimental impact on Liverpool's season, while Salah would also miss out on a hefty signing bonus he would be able to negotiate as a free agent.

The same applies with Van Dijk, who is Liverpool's captain and remains a rock at the heart of the defense.

Salah said he is treating this like his last season at the club, while Van Dijk has said he is calm about his position.

Liverpool spent around $150 million in total to sign the duo, who were so pivotal to its success under former manager Jurgen Klopp, and it would likely cost well in excess of that to replace them with like-for-like players.

All three players have been important to what has been such a promising start for Slot since he succeeded Klopp in the offseason.

And Slot was keen Friday to focus on maintaining that form, rather than contract discussions.

Liverpool can move four points clear at the top by beating Palace in the early kickoff, before defending champion Manchester City and Arsenal play later in the day.

There was no danger, he said, of his team getting carried away with its early success under him.

“We are Liverpool, so players are used to being on top of the league,” he said. “It would be very weird if a player at Liverpool is all of a sudden with his head in the clouds.”

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold warms up prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk warms up prior to the Champions League soccer match between Liverpool and Bologna at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League soccer match between Liverpool and Bologna at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's manager Arne Slot celebrates at the end of the Champions League soccer match between Liverpool and Bologna at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's manager Arne Slot smiles after Cody Gakpo scored their fourth goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rallying on a rush of optimism after a report showed employers went on a stronger spree of hiring last month. The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in early trading Friday and pulling toward its all-time high set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 195 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.1%. Treasury yields jumped in the bond market after the government said employers added 254,000 more jobs to their payrolls last month than they cut. That was an acceleration of hiring from August and blew past economists’ forecasts.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Shares on Wall Street jumped after the U.S. reported much stronger jobs figures than expected early Friday, evidence that the U.S. labor market is still solid despite years of elevated interest rates.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.8% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5%.

America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% to 4.1%, the Labor Department said.

The latest figures suggest that many companies are still confident enough to fill jobs despite the continued pressure of high interest rates. Few employers are laying off workers, though many have grown more cautious about hiring.

Stocks are near their records because of hopes the U.S. economy will indeed continue to grow, now that the Fed is cutting interest rates. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years and indicated more cuts will arrive through next year.

Rivian shares tumbled more than 7% after the electric truck and SUV maker lowered its production guidance for the year due to a parts shortage. Rivian said the disruption began in the third quarter and has since gotten worse.

Spirit Airlines shares plunged 32% after The Wall Street Journal reported the that the budget airline was exploring bankruptcy protection. Spirit shares have fallen to all-time lows just above $2 in the wake of its failed merger with JetBlue earlier this year. They are poised to open below $2 when markets open.

Later Friday, the government issues its September jobs report. One big question hanging over Wall Street has been whether the job market will continue to hold up after the Federal Reserve earlier held interest rates at a two-decade high. The Fed wanted to press the brake hard enough on the economy to stamp out high inflation without causing major job losses that could tip the economy into a recession.

Also Friday, some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.

Oil prices continued to rise in tandem with tensions in the Middle East.

It was the fourth straight day of gains for oil — its longest winning streak since August — after President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday that U.S. and Israel were discussing a possible strike by Israel against Iranian oil facilities.

“We’re in discussion of that,” Biden said to reporters. He added: “I think that would be a little ... anyway,” without finishing the thought. Biden also said he doesn’t expect Israel to retaliate immediately against Iran.

Iran is a major oil producer, and a broadening of the fighting could choke off Iran’s oil flows to China and also affect neighboring countries that are integral to crude supplies. Helping to keep prices in check, though, are signals that oil inventories remain ample at the moment. Brent crude fell to its lowest price in nearly three years last month.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 34 cents to $74.05 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 39 cents to $78.01 a barrel. On Thursday, Brent leaped 5% after starting the week below $72. It’s potentially on track for its biggest weekly percentage gain in nearly two years.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 gained 0.4%, while Germany's DAX edged up 0.2% and Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.5%.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2% to finish at 38,635.62. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.7% to 8,150.00. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3% to 2,569.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.8% to 22,736.87. Trading was closed in Shanghai for a holiday.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar slipped to 146.59 Japanese yen from 146.83 yen. The euro fell to $1.1029 from $1.1034.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office on Tuesday, gave a policy speech that promised salary increases for workers that exceed inflation, as well as an economic package that will give support for low-income households. He also said he will promote investment to create “a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.”

Following a meeting between Ishiba and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, “it was indicated that Japan is unlikely to make any near-term adjustments to its ultra-loose monetary policy,” according to Luca Santos, currency analyst at ACY Securities.

Ueda indicated the loose monetary policy would remain for some time. The Bank of Japan has begun very gradually raising its benchmark rate from near zero. It now stands at around 0.25%.

Expectations of rising rates had pushed the yen higher after the Liberal Democrats elected Ishiba to head the governing party and thus serve as prime minister. But the yen has fallen back against the dollar in the past two days after officials sent clear signals that they did not favor further rate hikes at this time.

A cheaper yen could work as a plus for Japan's giant exporters like Nintendo and Toyota by boosting the value of their overseas earnings. But it raises the cost of imports of oil and other vital commodities, pushing domestic prices higher and pinching household spending.

FILE - Signs mark the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the Financial District on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. Trinity Church is in the background. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - The entrance to the New York Stock Exchange at Wall and New Streets is shown on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)