Arne Slot all but admitted Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to join Real Madrid this summer, but did not comment on whether Liverpool will allow the defender to play at the Club World Cup in June.
Alexander-Arnold announced on Monday that he will leave his boyhood club at the end of the season, claiming that was the “hardest decision of my life”. But the 26-year-old has not yet confirmed where will play next campaign.
It’s the game’s worst-kept secret that Alexander-Arnold is destined for the Bernabeu, but what remains uncertain is when he will meet up with his new club.
The England international’s final game for Liverpool is on May 25, but his contract does not expire until the end of June.
In the meantime, Real is set to participate in the Club World Cup, with its first game to take place on June 18, which comes 13 days before Alexander-Arnold’s deal at Anfield concludes.
Talks are ongoing, therefore, on whether a deal can be struck to allow him to leave early, but no news has yet emerged.
Asked about the situation on Friday, ahead of the Arsenal game, Slot cheekily replied: “Do you know where he is going? He hasn’t said anything about it himself.
(Image: Getty Images)
“All he has said is that he is going to leave the club. For me it is impossible to comment on where he is going or if that is a club that is going to play in the Club World Cup.
“You see in my smile that we both know where he is going to, but it hasn’t been said yet. That’s impossible for me to comment on.
“Team selection, like last week, it is going to be the same thought process goes through by mind for the Sunday game,” he added.
“If Conor would have been available for Chelsea he would have started, but he wasn’t so there is a fair chance he will start on Sunday.”
On the news that Alexander-Arnold will leave this summer, Slot said: “I think, like everybody who likes Liverpool and is a fan of Liverpool, we are disappointed for him leaving because not only a good human leaving, but a very good full-back is leaving us as well.”
