Liverpool is reportedly in regular contact with Jeremie Frimpong over the possibility of a summer transfer to Anfield. It appears probable that the Reds will be in the market for a new right-back in the offseason, as Trent Alexander-Arnold seems to be edging towards the Anfield exit amid interest from Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold’s current Liverpool contract is due to expire on June 30, and Madrid has made the England international its No.1 target in the upcoming summer window.
The 26-year-old has not had much to say openly about his future, stating in September that he had no intention to let his talks with the Reds play out in public.
“I’ve always said that I want to captain the club,” Alexander-Arnold said last September. “That’s a goal of mine but whether that happens is out of my hands to be honest. I’ve been at the club 20 years now; I’ve signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public. This one won’t be either.
“I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum]. I want to win trophies; I am a player who is highly motivated by trophies and winning things and being elite. So that is probably the main factor of anything, if you have a personality that is elite, who wants to win and will do anything to win then that is what drives me.”
If Alexander-Arnold does leave, Liverpool will have a decision to make over whether to recruit a top-level replacement for the Liverpudlian, or sign a lower-profile player to provide competition for Conor Bradley, who has shown signs at times this season that he is ready to take on the responsibility of being the Reds’ first-choice right-back.
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Sport Bild reports that Liverpool head coach Slot is in regular contact with fellow Dutchman Frimpong, who reportedly has a $44 million release clause in his contract at Bayer Leverkusen.
The report says that the Reds’ pursuit of Frimpong will ultimately depend on what happens with Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah this summer.
Should all three players end up leaving on free transfers, the Reds would reportedly prioritize moves for a new center-back and a new striker.
The same report also names three more Bundesliga players who Liverpool is apparently keen on: Borussia Dortmund center-back Nico Schlotterbeck, 25; Wolfsburg center-back Konstantinos Koulierakis, 21; and Frankfurt winger Ansgar Knauff, 23.