Trent Alexander-Arnold and his future continues to hang in the balance. His contract is up in the summer and a tempting move to another of world football’s true giants is on the table.
Liverpool hope to keep Alexander-Arnold at Anfield but interest from Real Madrid persists despite a rejected initial bid to sign the 26-year-old in January before he becomes available on a free transfer in July.
Alexander-Arnold is a one-club man but is one of three key Reds players whose contractual situation has become an unwelcome backdrop to Liverpool’s Premier League title charge.
What would make Trent Alexander-Arnold stay at Liverpool?
There are different types of immortality in football. Alexander-Arnold has won the Premier League and Champions League with his boyhood club and has never played for anyone else. For a player whose stated aim is to build a legacy, these things matter.
But being a Liverpool lad winning the lot with the Reds before heading off to join the new generation of Galacticos in the Spanish capital would be no bad way to make a name that outlives a man.
According to reports, Alexander-Arnold has informed Liverpool of the contractual demands that might tip the balance in what’s likely to be the biggest dilemma of his football career.
Alexander-Arnold, who is ranked at number one in FourFourTwo’s list of the best right-backs in the world right now, wants a commitment from Liverpool that he will be made the captain of his hometown club in the future.
It’s a reasonable enough request for a player clearly motivated by prestige, not least because he’s already second in line and captain Virgil van Dijk is also out of contract in the summer.
The player’s other reported renewal requirement is for any new deal to run for three years. Fast forward to the summer of 2028 and Alexander-Arnold would be a 29-year-old Liverpool captain with more than 350 Premier League appearances and very possibly a league title as skipper to his name.
That’s a legacy for Alexander-Arnold but it’s also a situation with which Liverpool should be comfortable.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion neither assurances over the captaincy nor a modest demand regarding contract length should – or will – deter the Reds from working to retain him.
The question mark from the club’s point of view is a financial one. Alexander-Arnold will also have a salary demand and if that is prohibitive then a three-year deal might look a less attractive prospect.
Liverpool take on rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday and manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Alexander-Arnold will play – but didn’t rule out a January sale.
“I can tell you he is playing on Sunday,” Slot told the press on Friday.
“Hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here.”
