Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy provides an update on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future, answering all the key questions.
The saga took another twist on New Year’s Eve when Liverpool rejected a bid for Real Madrid’s Alexander-Arnold.
There was no official offer, but there was an approach from the Spanish side.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract expires at the end of the season and there are reports in Spain that the 26-year-old has told Liverpool he wants to play for Madrid.
Ready, who interviewed Alexander-Arnold in Decemberdetails what this latest development means…
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Reddy sat down with Alexander-Arnold, who spoke about his ambitions to win more trophies and how Arne Slott got his side.
What does this latest development tell us about where clubs and players are heading into the summer?
Melissa says: For Real Madrid, it definitely shows us that Alexander-Arnold is the main target of the summer, so much so that they are not willing to wait until then and are willing to pay more than £20 million to get him back on free agency ahead.
They wouldn’t have approached Liverpool to sign him this window if there wasn’t encouragement from the player’s end, but it’s important to stress that this doesn’t mean Alexander-Arnold wants to leave Liverpool this month it’s in his best interest for Real to show their hand, for Liverpool to fight for him, for his boyhood club to know Real’s intentions and make him an offer worth considering.
He is in an incredibly strong position in terms of negotiations.
Liverpool were never going to agree to Alexander-Arnold leaving this month given their league and Champions League ambitions. They have not conceded defeat by keeping him and signing a new contract, and they won’t until he says he wants to leave for Madrid. It has not been said so far.
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Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley and Peter Smith discuss Trent Alexander-Arnold’s potential move to Real Madrid and why Conor Bradley could be his long-term replacement at Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold can now conduct official negotiations with Real Madrid. Does that change anything?
Melissa says: It doesn’t change much in the sense that in modern transfers there are always informal conversations and each party already knows the parameters of the deal. It affects how loud and open Real Madrid are might be keen on chasing Trent now, which won’t go down well with Liverpool or their supporters.Be prepared for the hype, especially from the Madrid papers.
Is there a danger that this Trent situation could destabilize Liverpool’s title?
Melissa says: The contract situations, especially with Real Madrid going forward in their aggressive, charming-attacking way, hangs an uncomfortable cloud over the reigning Liverpool, but I don’t think it will distract them because of the professionalism of the players and their relationship Arne With a slot that is very strong. i interviewed trent two weeks ago and he said how much he likes the level of detail Slot provides and the changes to his game.
The ambition to win silverware will be paramount for all of them this season.
We’ve seen Real Madrid move, can you see other clubs making moves for other Liverpool signings Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah this month?
Melissa says: We are talking about the best player in the world on current form, Mohamed Salah, and the best centre-back, Virgil van Dijk, so it would be a surprise if no elite side tried to sign them.
But I think they’ve both made it very clear that they want to stay at Anfield and the market is tight, so the clubs that would normally be able to afford and allow them to play at the highest level don’t have the financial muscle at the moment. : the climate to sell them an alternative to Liverpool.
Both players are in the starting line-up of every top team, regardless of who is deployed in their position; it’s not about their talent, it’s just about the state of market forces.
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