For Liverpool, there’s not much good that can come out of Trent Alexander-Arnold potentially leaving for Real Madrid, but one of them is the prospect of Conor Bradley getting more game time as he continues his development next season.
The Northern Ireland international has been brilliant since emerging as a regular in the first-team squad during the second half of last season, and it is testament to the quality he has shown that, at times earlier in this campaign, some were questioning whether the Reds were actually a better team with him in it instead of Alexander-Arnold.
Perhaps there is an argument to be made for that being the case from a defensive perspective, but Alexander-Arnold’s attacking quality is unrivaled by any defender in world soccer, and his offensive traits would clearly be greatly missed.
Despite Bradley’s impressive emergence, Alexander-Arnold’s boots would be big ones to fill, and as is the case with the vast majority of young players, there are no guarantees he will succeed in the long run.
Of course, the signs are positive: his defensive work rate is fantastic, he is a great progressive ball carrier, and he loves a tackle — just ask Kylian Mbappe. The reality is, though, that only time will tell if Bradley can stand up to the pressure of being Liverpool’s first-choice right-back, season in, season out.
It sounds as though Liverpool is currently weighing up the best way to proceed in the event that Alexander-Arnold leaves, after it was reported that the club is considering a move for Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen.
Frimpong is into his fourth season as a regular for Leverkusen and has established himself as one of the best right-backs in the world, helping the club to achieve Bundesliga glory last season.
He has made more than twice the amount of career appearances as Bradley, and his addition would be major statement by the Reds heading into the new season.
The club is reportedly weighing up whether to go down the route of making an addition like Frimpong, or investing a lower amount in a player who could come in and provide Bradley with competition for the right-back role in the years ahead.
It is an intriguing dilemma, and one that we’ll discover the answer to in the summer should Alexander Arnold depart: will the Reds show the ultimate faith in Bradley and trust him as a first-team regular next season, or will his development continue to be carefully managed as he continues to play back-up to a bigger name?
