Liverpool fans have been rocked this week as Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to finalise a move to Real Madrid in the near future.
Indeed, Alexander-Arnold is set to sign for Real Madrid, and the Reds are set to lose one of their star players.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Liverpool have been in this situation – Michael Owen and Steve McManaman have both also left Anfield for the Bernabeu in the past.
With Alexander-Arnold on his way out, attention must now turn to replacing the England star.
Jeremie Frimpong has been linked to Liverpool in the past, but according to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on the Here We Go Podcast, Liverpool have full trust in Conor Bradley to fill Alexander-Arnold’s shoes.
Liverpool believe in Conor Bradley
Romano shared what he knows about Bradley and how Liverpool view the full-back.
The journalist says that Liverpool are very happy with Bradley, believing him to be a huge talent.
According to Romano, Liverpool are ready to trust Bradley in the future as their starting right-back.
“In terms of right-back, what I’m hearing is that they are very happy with Conor Bradley. They believe that Conor Bradley can be part of this future Liverpool squad. They believe he’s a huge talent.
“The responsibility of being the starting right-back at Liverpool is going to be completely different, but they feel this boy has everything in place in order to become an important player for Arne Slot. I was there at Anfield, Liverpool-Real Madrid game in November, I think, November, December, I don’t remember. There was a tackle from Conor Bradley and the reaction from the crowd, the reaction from Anfield, I think was the perfect start of a new story.
“So that moment shows how Liverpool as a club, but also as a fan base, is ready to trust this boy, is ready to trust Conor Bradley. Then let’s see what they do on the market. But Conor Bradley internally is considered the next big thing at right back and they fully trust him for the future.”
How Liverpool replaced other Real Madrid-bound stars
Liverpool look set to use Bradley as their Alexander-Arnold replacement, but the Reds need to be wary here as they’ve previously struggled to replace their stars when they’ve headed to Real Madrid.
| Liverpool stars who left for Real Madrid | Replacement |
|---|---|
| Steve McManaman | Vladimir Smicer |
| Michael Owen | Djibril Cisse |
| Xabi Alonso | Alberto Aquilani |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Conor Bradley |
Vladimir Smicer was signed way in advance as Steve McManaman’s replacement at Liverpool – as he stated on the Aldo Meets Podcast.
“I said, right, I’m leaving. And I told Gerrard early on, and he kept it quiet with all credit to him. But I told him as early as possible so he could find a player.
“And he bought Vlad, actually, Vladimir Smicer. So he knew months and months in advance,”
Meanwhile, Djibril Cisse was decent for Liverpool, but he didn’t quite live up to the standards set by the former Ballon d’Or winner, Michael Owen.
Alberto Aquilani was signed after Xabi Alonso’s departure to Real Madrid, and the less said about that deal, the better.
Aquilani was a serious flop at Liverpool. even though he had plenty of talent.
Of course, Bradley is more of a known quantity as he’s already at the club, and Bradley has received plenty of praise for his performances for Liverpool, but the Reds need to be careful not to fall into the same trap of struggling to replace a Real Madrid-bound star player.
