In terms of contract extensions, Trent Alexander-Arnold stands out as the priority for Liverpool this summer.
The Englishman's deal is due to expire in 2025 and the Reds will want to tie him down with the minimum of fuss as they look to build the next great Jürgen Klopp side around him.
Intriguingly, Virgil van Dijk's contract is also up that summer, but there has been next-to-no talk of a new deal, suggesting it's far less clear-cut.
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It seems remarkable to say it given the peerless levels Van Dijk was reaching in his position as recently as 2019 (or even 2021), but Liverpool might actually have a dilemma here.
Van Dijk will be on the verge of turning 34 by the time that contract expires and is coming off the back of his poorest season in a red shirt, sparking concerns that the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in the 2020/21 season has restricted his longevity. For a player who was previously bulletproof, it suddenly feels like there is a level that he needs to return to.
The club has already secured one half of its long-term center-back partnership by signing Ibrahima Konaté from RB Leipzig, and it will hope to recruit the second this summer.
We don't yet know who that new player will be, but we can probably assume that the next Liverpool defense will be built around Konaté. However, if the struggles of Van Dijk continue, then that transition may take place sooner than we anticipated.
Konaté certainly has the quality to live up to the succession task, having proven himself to be one of the best young center-halves in world football in the last couple of years. Indeed, it won't be long before you can drop the word 'young' from that statement altogether.
But that's not all it takes to be truly great — the Frenchman will have to become a leader too and grow in stature independent of Van Dijk, the man he's almost exclusively played alongside at Anfield. Right now, it's the former Southampton player who takes responsibility for orchestrating the back line and stands out as the most vocal presence within the Liverpool rearguard.
But when the apprentice becomes the master, Konaté will be expected to take on that role, which will require an adjustment period given that he's become so accustomed to playing second fiddle.
The 24-year-old knows that almost all of the iconic figures in his position were dominant leaders and, in a telling insight into his goals for the season ahead, admitted he needs to develop this side of the game.
"I think this season, the third season, I have to level up and show another personality of me on the pitch and in life as well," he told Liverpool's official website earlier this month. Perhaps this year, we will begin to see more games where Klopp entrusts Konaté as the leader, whether that's in the Europa League or elsewhere.
This could be crucial for his growth, initiating the next stage of the plan Liverpool hatched in 2021 when it signed him from RB Leipzig for $46m (£36m/€42m). Klopp and his staff knew that Konaté would have to take on the responsibility of being a leader eventually, and soon, it will be time to face up to it.
