Liverpool journalist reveals what TAA actually meant by contract claim: ‘A lot to pick the bones out of’
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is in the final 12 months of his current contract and the club must tie him down to a new deal.
For all the good work Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s ownership, have done on Merseyside since arriving in 2010, allowing Alexander-Arnold to potentially run down his contract at the club may go down as the very worst.
Liverpool enjoyed a strong footballing structure above former manager Jurgen Klopp, with the likes of Michael Edwards and Julian Ward bringing in a number of player’s who have left Anfield as a success.
Alexander-Arnold, a homegrown, academy product who has been at the club since the age of six, should not be allowed to leave on a free, not at this stage of his career anyways.
Alongside the England right-back, star players Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are also out of contract next summer, and it is imperative the club don’t allow them to walk on a free too, though the feeling to allow the duo to leave, in comparison to Alexander-Arnold would be completely different considering one has been at Liverpool all his life and is only 25.
Salah is 32, while Van Dijk is 33 and their best football could be behind them though Alexander-Arnold still has so much to offer to the Premier League club.
Highly regarded Liverpool journalist James Pearce believes though that the opportunity for the right-back to leave next summer should not be downplayed.
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Pearce said: “I asked him if he wanted to stay beyond this season, and he said ‘I want to be a Liverpool player this season is what I will say’.
“Now, I think context around that is important, because what he actually meant was, ‘I want to be a Liverpool player for the rest of this season, minimum’.
“Of course, at the minute he can’t commit to longer than that because that’s all the time that is left on his contract. So I think there is a lot to pick the bones out of.
“He also said that when it comes to making that big decision over his future, that it’s the pursuit of trophies that will be the overriding factor because he talked about how that’s what drives him, winning the biggest prizes, and he wants to achieve as much as he can in his career.”
So far in his career, Alexander-Arnold has won the Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Carabao Cup, though he will be raring to add to that collection and the best opportunity to win another Champions League medal may come at Real Madrid, a club who are keeping tabs on his current situation.
Having also seen his good friend and countryman Jude Bellingham rip it up in the Spanish capital, a move to the Santiago Bernabeu surely appeals.
Alexander-Arnold has 19 goals and 83 assists for Liverpool in 316 games, including 59 Premier League assists, essentially redefining the right-back role since making his debut in 2016.
With Dani Carvajal coming towards the back end of his career in the Spanish capital, a move to Madrid may come as a very suitable option for Alexander-Arnold.
