Liverpool has been told that it should have sold Trent Alexander-Arnold during the January transfer window, when Real Madrid was willing to part with a transfer fee for the right-back.
Alexander-Arnold will become a free agent this summer and is expected to join Madrid for nothing, banking an eight-figure signing-on fee for himself in the process.
Considering the way Liverpool‘s season has gone in the domestic cups and in Europe over the last couple of months, the club might regret not accepting an offer from Madrid to sign Alexander-Arnold in January.
The Reds could have pocketed a $26 million transfer fee and also saved itself six months in salary payments to Alexander-Arnold, but understandably, at the time, the club wanted to keep the squad together as it chased glory on four fronts.
To add insult to injury, Alexander-Arnold is now sidelined with an ankle sprain, and controversial TV anchor Richard Keys said that Liverpool should have sold the player in January.
“Like I said – Liverpool should’ve got rid of TAA in January & banked the £20m on offer,” Keys said on X. “He was never going to stay. Now it’s turned nasty & he’s no use to them anyway. Him staying was never going to determine whether they won the title.”
Fan anger at the Alexander-Arnold situation has been aimed in a variety of directions, with some critical of the player for wanting to leave his boyhood club, and others critical of the club for allowing a situation to transpire where a player of Alexander-Arnold’s caliber is in a position to leave as a free agent.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher admitted that he is disappointed that Alexander-Arnold is set to leave, but said that he wants to see the England star succeed in La Liga.
(Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
He said on Sky Sports: “What I hope doesn’t happen is this resentment carries on and hoping he doesn’t do well at Real Madrid – I love people from my own city doing well, and he’s playing for the biggest club in the world. Once he’s gone, I’d love him to do well.
“I’m not angry about him going on a free. In an ideal world, Liverpool would get £70m or £80m for him to reinvest, but you can’t have it both ways as a supporter.
“If Liverpool sign someone on a free in the summer, we’d all be delighted, so does that mean that his former club should absolutely hate him? Also, when you’re a local player you don’t cost anything – Trent going on a free is like Virgil van Dijk leaving for £75m, we’d still break even.
“Where I’m at is that, as a local player and a Liverpool fan, Liverpool are in a position where they’re competing for the league and a European Cup every year. So, if you’re a Liverpool fan and a local player, I’m just disappointed that he doesn’t think that this is it.”
