Liverpool star ‘wants to be free’ as Real Madrid make him one of ‘two objectives’ next summer
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of ‘two objectives’ for Real Madrid ahead of next summer, according to reports.
The Reds have started the season in brilliant form with Arne Slot winning all three of his first three Premier League matches as the new Liverpool manager.
It’s an even bigger achievement considering Liverpool were tipped to have a potential hangover post-Jurgen Klopp after the German chose to leave at the end of last season.
However, the contract situations of Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are still hanging over the Merseysiders with the trio able to leave on free transfers next summer.
So far there is little sign of progress over efforts to tie any of the trio down and they have inevitably been linked with transfers away from Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold in particular seems like an attractive proposition with Real Madrid and Barcelona both reportedly interested in the England international.
The Liverpool defender was visibly annoyed about being substituted in their opening match of the season against Brentford and Slot had to play down claims of any issues.
And now reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is moving away from the ‘signing for the sake of signing’ policy at the club and will now ‘choose players who are going to be profitable on and off the field’.
Kylian Mbappe is an example of that strategy and now Perez’s ‘two objectives’ for the summer of 2025 are Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, both on free transfers.
Real Madrid ‘has followed their careers in recent years and has tested the availability of both to sign them’ with the report adding that both players ‘want to be free’.
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Liverpool legend Graeme Souness claimed last week that the only reason Slot took off Alexander-Arnold in their 3-0 win over Manchester United must have been because the England international has agreed to move to Real Madrid.
Souness said: “Trent Alexander-Arnold is tailor-made for Real Madrid in terms of the way he plays, and he’s got an unbelievable delivery – not to mention he’s good friends with Jude Bellingham. He could end up at Madrid and that message may already have been relayed to Liverpool.
“I don’t see any obvious reason to take Trent off against Manchester United, other than if they know he’s leaving. They’d still want to keep him on side for the rest of the season and he’ll go for free at the end of it.
“The message that he’s made up his mind may already have been relayed to the higher-ups at the club. He’s running his contract down. If you’re going to leave Liverpool, where else other than Real Madrid can you really go to better yourself?”
Souness added: “Arne Slot brought Conor Bradley off the bench against both Brentford and Manchester United. He’s a proper player. Slot may have just wanted to give him a feel for what it’s like to play at Old Trafford, to keep him onside. He’s giving Bradley a few minutes and just making sure he’s happy.
“He’s certainly taking a good look at Bradley. It’s forward planning from Slot. He’s been told he’s good enough for the first team and he wants to see that for himself.”
