Trent Alexander-Arnold is about to make the biggest decision of his career as Real Madrid push for his signature, and the homegrown defender has been told he would be risking his Liverpool legacy by moving in the January transfer window
Trent Alexander-Arnold is about to make the biggest decision of his career as Real Madrid push for his signature, and the homegrown defender has been told he would be risking his Liverpool legacy by moving in the January transfer window Trent Alexander-Arnold is about to make the biggest decision of his career as Real Madrid push for his signature, and the homegrown defender has been told he would be risking his Liverpool legacy by moving in the January transfer window
The future of Trent Alexander-Arnold was brought into sharp focus this week with Real Madrid’s approach to sign him in the January transfer window.
Liverpool obviously rebuffed the move as they have no interest in letting the right-back go and still retain hope he will sign a new deal. But the approach from the Spanish giants has sparked real concern on Merseyside that the local star may be edging towards making the move away from Anfield.
His current contract expires in June and that means he could walk away from the club for nothing in a few months. There’s a lot to consider; leaving for nothing, legacy and moving on from a side which could win the Premier League and European Cup this season?
It’s caused quite the stir and become a divisive debate among some supporters this week. Mirror Football spoke to some lifelong Liverpool supporters who work for fan-led media to get their personal opinions.
Neil Atkinson, presenter and CEO of The Anfield Wrap
I don’t think it is a good time to leave Liverpool for any player but especially for a player as integral as Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It’ll be sad if he chooses to go and would be sad in any context therefore in terms of the emotion I don’t particularly care whether or not the club gets money for him; Liverpool make more money than almost any other club on the planet.
There shouldn’t be a fee Liverpool would accept under any circumstances for such a special player. Liverpool also rightly don’t do release clauses. In general there is also more to life and football than money.
But if he chooses to go at the end of the season then fair enough. People get to make bad choices or choices I’d disagree with. People also get to do new things with their life and career for whatever reason. It could be money, the challenge, a new way of life, a different type of club which is more celebrity orientated. It could be any combination of the above.
(
Image:
Getty Images)
People get to have new experiences and a new life. People move to and from the city of Liverpool constantly and that is a good thing. Alexander-Arnold was brilliant for Liverpool and they never had to pay for him in the first place. He doesn’t owe anyone anything at all.
The club will be absolutely fine without him. It’ll be a shame not to watch him make breathtaking things look mundane but loads of other clubs have won trophies without him playing for them across these last few years. Liverpool have gone from strength to strength post Jurgen Klopp. There is no reason to think losing Alexander-Arnold will hugely impact the club’s prospects.
Winning trophies should be the only preoccupation for Liverpool FC and supporters. Especially this season when everything feels possible. Whatever is going on with him simply isn’t bigger than the hunt for a league title we can all celebrate together as supporters.
If he leaves and comes back wearing the shirt of any opponent he should get the same relentless welcome Luis Suarez did in 2019 for Barcelona. And by the way, if he scores against us – all the best – he should celebrate. Football loves and needs the needle.
He may well choose to stay and grasp genuine legendary status. That’d be the smart move. But it is his life and his choice. And until then there is a 20th league title to be won and he has a massive role to play in that.
Josh Sexton, producer of The Anfield Wrap
A large part of why the coverage and fan feeling around Trent Alexander-Arnold has been so much more intense is definitely because he’s a local lad.
Virgil van Dijk is the oldest of the trio and has been as quiet as Trent has, yet there’s been a general confidence he wants to stay and see out his career here.
Mo Salah’s desire to make the lack of negotiations more public has led to a larger degree of coverage and fan feeling, but that’s more weighted in the player’s favour than it has been around Trent. It’s a no brainer that the club should keep Salah, whereas with Trent it’s a no brainer that he should want to stay.
(
Image:
Offside via Getty Images)
It would definitely harm his legacy if he were to leave the club, and he only has to look at Michael Owen and Steve McManaman’s situations to figure out why. Owen was a Ballon d’Or winner and won loads at Liverpool, though his relationship with the fans was always a little more complicated as he was pitted against Robbie Fowler in a lot of circles.
In Macca’s case, he was Fowler’s best friend and an absolute fan favourite during a time when there wasn’t an awful lot to celebrate.
Now, like Owen, he’s more known for being a maligned pundit having fallen between the stools of being broadly unloved in Liverpool and a small fish in a big pond at the Bernabeu. That sentiment alone is indicative of the difference in fan culture around the two clubs and should serve as a cautionary tale for Trent.
It would definitely be the salt in the wound if Trent were to leave for nothing. While fans won’t really particularly care about the idea of contributing towards ’transfer warchests‘ and the like, the idea that Trent ran down his contract to force the move would be unavoidable.
(
Image:
Getty Images)
Real’s financial situation is more than public, so there’s no other way they could afford to pay what Trent would be worth. Criticism of Trent would be more than fair. Liverpool fans take great pride in local lads coming through, and Trent was even adorned with having his name sung as ‘the Scouser in our team’, but with that love obviously comes a greater level of expectation.
Fans expect that the legacy you’ll want to leave is achieved by spending your peak years at Anfield – a la Steven Gerrard.
Ste Hoare, head of operations at The Redmen TV
It’s a total mess. To have your vice-captain, right in the middle of his peak, out of contract with Real Madrid clearly sniffing around him is a pretty terrible place for Liverpool to find themselves.
But players will come and go from Liverpool and the club will always recover. I love Trent and I think he’s fabulous but we’ve lost players who were at least as equally good as him and we’ve always been able to fill gaps.
The main issue though is the lack of a fee to use to replace him. I’m a huge Conor Bradley fan and I think the team can compete with him as the starting right-back, but that’s a lot to put on him.
(
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Having said all that, it’s still pretty important for Trent to stay. He’s a brilliant footballer first of all and any club would miss him but also, it’s got a great look for a club if a player at his age, and of his ability leaves for free.
I’ve seen players leave Liverpool in the past in order to win trophies, and it’s been understandable to an extent, but for a local lad to seemingly be thinking about leaving at a time where the side are not just competing, but leading the race for the biggest prizes is really disappointing.
When you’re a scouser playing for Liverpool, you are treated differently, there’s no doubt about that. You get idolised and supported more because people from this city love to stick together and back their own, that’ll never change.
However, if you then walk away from that, and do so on a free transfer, you have to accept that there’s going to be a significant number of people who’ll be angry about it. If Trent did want to leave in the middle of his contract, there’d definitely be anger from some supporters, there’s no question about that, but at least the club would get a very sizable fee.
(
Image:
Getty Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you make of the situation around Trent Alexander-Arnold? Comment below.
To lose the most valuable asset at the club for free would be hugely damaging. I think everyone understands why Real Madrid would be tempting for any footballer. They’re undoubtedly the biggest club in the world.
However, Liverpool are a pretty big club too and they are competing for the absolute top honours, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask players to show some loyalty and stay if they’re being offered competitive wages and the chance to win the biggest competitions.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.
Learn more
Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £240 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Mirror – Sport