Real Madrid have been pushing to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for almost a year now, with credible reports of their interest in his services dating back to March 2024. Liverpool can do very little about it, given that his contract expires at the end of the season, and Real are currently exerting all their energy towards getting a deal done. So much so that, having had their initial approach for a January transfer dismissed out of hand, they’re preparing to contact the Merseysiders again to try and sign the right-back this month, according to Paul Joyce of The Times.
As Joyce states in his report, even a second attempt Real might make will yield no better results than the first one. Liverpool simply aren’t prepared to listen to any offers at the moment, with their season going extremely well – they have a comfortable lead at the top of the Premier League table, they top the Champions League group as well and could secure that spot in the next round already with a game to spare, and they’re still in a position to retain the Carabao Cup trophy they won last season as they face Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals.
With all that in mind, it doesn’t make sense to dispense with the services of one of the most influential players in the team, under any circumstances. Real are believed to be willing to pay up to £20 million to sign Alexander-Arnold six months before his contract expires, and they insist it’s because they want to show respect to Liverpool, rather than just sign their vice-captain for free at the end of the season. However, they are, of course, ready to wait for the summer if Liverpool do not open the door this month.
Real will be aware at this point that this talk about “respect” carries little credibility. They surely know that nothing short of a spectacularly huge fee would be enough for Liverpool to accept the prospect of weakening their squad at such a crucial junction. So why are they pushing for it?
Or are they?
The matter is completely in Alexander-Arnold’s hands, or will be in the summer. It is a choice between remaining at his boyhood club, where he was given the opportunity to make his name as one of the best in his role, and where he would very likely go on to become a captain and a true icon, or joining the biggest club in the world, the most successful one in the history of the game, where major trophies and glory are practically certain every season. Neither Real nor Liverpool can force him to decide one way or the other.
Leaving sentimentality aside, a big worry for the England international regarding a move to the Santiago Bernabeu would be the question of his career potentially going the wrong way after it happens. At Liverpool, his occasional form instability was tolerated, the time-from-time defensive lapses forgiven, not least because of his incredible attacking contributions, but also because of the fact that at Liverpool, he’s considered one of their own. He will surely be aware that he’ll get no such treatment in Madrid, where fans have been known to boo out-of-form players, where the club have a history of disrespecting their icons by pushing them ruthlessly out, either when they cannot contribute as much as they had in the past, or simply when president Florentino Perez doesn’t want them there anymore.
Therefore, Real will be trying to convince Alexander-Arnold that they really want him, that they don’t just see him as a free tool which, in case it goes wrong, can easily be cast away. And offering to pay a transfer fee, just six months before being able to get his services for free, appears to send out such a message, with the aim of putting any doubts the player might have over the move to rest. Even if it’s nothing more than a gesture attempt.
In a rather sneaky way, the Spanish giants have tried to plant a seed of discontent at Liverpool regarding Alexander-Arnold, by having Marca, widely considered their own mouth piece, put out a claim that the player had already informed his current club about his decision to leave. Needless to say, the claim has been dismissed by sources far more credible; even Alexander-Arnold seemed to be labeling it as false with the celebration of his goal in the recent victory over West Ham.
Looking at the matter from a purely football point of view, Real really need a new right-back, with 32-year-old Dani Carvajal currently out with an ACL tear and doubts lingering over his ability to continue at the highest level upon returning to the fold next season, and 33-year-old Lucas Vazquez being the only alternative head coach Carlo Ancelotti has at his disposal at the moment. And if their plan is to build a team that would look for more attacking input from their fullbacks, then signing Alexander-Arnold makes perfect sense in every possible way.
On the other hand, Liverpool need their vice-captain as well, and they appear to be on the rise under Arne Slot. Alexander-Arnold himself has spoken very highly about the impact of the Dutchman, whose arrival as the successor of Jurgen Klopp has surpassed all expectations.
“The style with which he coaches, and the style in which we play and the identity we have got as a team is something that is there to see,” Alexander-Arnold said recently.
“The lads have bought into it from day one. The tactics are mind-blowing as well, if I’m honest. We’re all enjoying it. He’s getting the best out of players. That’s all you want as a player.”
Ancelotti enjoyed great success against Klopp as the Liverpool boss, but the only time he has faced Slot in charge of the Reds so far was a 2-0 Champions League defeat at Anfield in November.
But the winner of the Trent Alexander-Arnold battle is yet to be decided.
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