Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold has decided to leave the Anfield side and move on this summer, with a free transfer switch to Real Madrid now imminent.
It is a story that has dominated the news agenda, even though it has been expected for some time. And with the confirmation, almost everyone has been asked for their take on the decision.
Everton captain James Tarkowski, who was appearing on Sky Sports as Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest, has now weighed in on the situation too. He has played against Alexander-Arnold several times including in Merseyside derbies.
“I’ve not been fortunate enough to play for my boyhood club, win the things that he has won, and do the things that he has done,” Tarkowski said on Monday Night Football.
“My opinion is that every young child’s dream is to play for Real Madrid over everyone else in the world. That is the pull that has obviously got him.
“We can be [too harshly judged] at times, and maybe he is being judged because he is a local lad and he has come through the Academy and been there for so long. But it is his own career, and he is going to make his own decisions.
(Image: Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
“He obviously feels he needs to experience this adventure abroad at the biggest club in the world. I can see the frustration from a Liverpool perspective, but I also understand him as well.”
Liverpool will not get a transfer fee for Alexander-Arnold but could receive compensation if the Spanish giant wants to use the player at the summer’s inaugural Club World Cup, which takes place before his existing contract expires.
“We all know there is a football pyramid,” Jamie Carragher wrote in a column for The Telegraph in reaction to the news. “The prestige of Real Madrid and Barcelona has put them at the tip of it for a long time.
“Then you have the group of multiple European Cup winners just below including AC Milan, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Manchester United, constantly jockeying for position, suffering their highs and lows, but always a pull for the top players and managers.
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“Those footballers who are good enough to have established themselves as icons at those historic clubs might believe there is only one small step left to take to get to the biggest in the world. But making that next move is still risky.
“What is gained in the short term can be sacrificed in terms of a legacy once a career is over. And although it might sound like a cliche to say you are ‘part of the family’ once you are loved by the fans of the biggest, most storied clubs, it is true.”
Liverpool.com says: Alexander-Arnold will leave a big hole at Anfield in terms of creativity. His influence from full-back has redefined how the position is viewed and there is no hiding away from the fact that he is a world-class player at his best and will therefore be missed. Arne Slot has had long enough to plan ahead, though, even if the news is only just officially emerging.
