Liverpool is celebrating a major breakthrough in its contract impasse, with Mohamed Salah’s extension now confirmed. An announcement on Virgil van Dijk is thought to be in the works as well — but Trent Alexander-Arnold now appears to be something of a lost cause, with the latest update far from encouraging.
On the whole, Liverpool can probably make peace with keeping two out of three, although losing Alexander-Arnold for nothing in his peak years goes down as a horrible piece of business. FSG has some serious reflection to do on that front, although the vice-captain is not the first player to have his head turned by Real Madrid.
As Salah and Van Dijk receive torrents of adulation, securing their legendary status at Anfield beyond all doubt, Alexander-Arnold must surely be having one or two nagging doubts. But as far as Real Madrid is concerned, the deal is done, and that’s reflected in what manager Carlo Ancelotti has been told.
According to The Athletic, the board has been telling Ancelotti since the start of March that Alexander-Arnold will be a Real Madrid player next season. While official confirmation has not yet been forthcoming, this level of confidence at the Bernabeu is rarely misplaced.
Funnily enough, there’s probably more of a question over whether Ancelotti — the man informed of Alexander-Arnold’s transfer — will be at Real Madrid next season. He looks on the brink of a Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal, and Barcelona is leading the way in La Liga.
President Florentino Perez is nothing if not ruthless. There’s been talk for some time that Real Madrid is keen on Xabi Alonso, potentially leading to a scenario where Alexander-Arnold ends up playing under someone he no doubt idolized at Liverpool growing up.
Regardless of who is in charge, though, Alexander-Arnold’s presence in the Spanish capital is clearly being taken as a given. Steven Gerrard once famously made a dramatic U-turn on his future, but a reversal at this point would be even more shocking for all involved.
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
His departure will pose a challenge to Arne Slot from a sporting perspective. Alexander-Arnold’s recent absence through injury has exposed a slight scarcity of creative acumen without him in the side, which may well need to be addressed in the transfer market.
A like-for-like replacement at full-back is probably going to prove impossible, although Conor Bradley comes with plenty of his own qualities. It could be the case that the midfield needs a bit of a rejig in order to retain a sufficient playmaking threat.
But as much as anything else, this saga is disappointing on a personal note. Alexander-Arnold was meant to become one of the all-time greats, right up there with the club’s biggest legends, but Real Madrid has induced him to throw that all away.
Assuming he leaves as expected, he will now go down as a far less significant figure in the club’s history than Salah or Van Dijk. His exploits at Liverpool will be remembered fondly, but he will always be the one who walked away — unless, of course, Ancelotti has been misinformed by Real Madrid.
