Liverpool: ‘Bang ordinary’ star blasted with FSG urged to ‘take £20m’; PL doesn’t ‘hinge on’ transfer

Liverpool have been urged to cash in on Trent Alexander-Arnold after he struggled in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

The England international has entered the final six months of his contract and he’s among the 20 best footballers who could become a free agent in 2025. 

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are in the same boat, but Liverpool teammate Alexander-Arnold is arguably the most likely to leave amid interest from Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in the market for a right-back as they need a long-term replacement for Dani Carvajal, who is expected to miss the rest of this season with a serious knee injury.

Real Madrid were initially expected to wait until the summer to sign Alexander-Arnold, but they have made an ‘approach’ to land him in January.

This caused a stir ahead of Liverpool’s match against Man Utd on Sunday and the transfer talk appeared to distract Alexander-Arnold.

The right-back has previously managed to put speculation to one side as he’s shone for Arne Slot’s side, but he struggled against United and was often targeted by United’s attackers.

READ: Liverpool fans say ‘let him go’ on Trent as Reds already have ‘defensive upgrade’

Presenter Richard Keys has subsequently urged Liverpool to cash in on Alexander-Arnold this month as they can win the Premier League without him.

Keys said: “His performance proved that Liverpool should take Madrid’s £20m and settle the on-off transfer saga surrounding him. Clearly he’s leaving – so bring the issue to a head.

“Never mind all the sentimental misguided nonsense being spouted by Liverpool pundits who should know better – get the deal done. Believe me – Liverpool’s season is not going to hinge on whether a bang ordinary ‘defender’ stays or goes.

“I’m not saying he isn’t a good player – I just think his skill set is better suited to Madrid. Defending is not his strength. And the debate is a distraction.”

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Football finance expert Stefan Borson thinks Liverpool could “think twice” about selling Alexander-Arnold on one condition.

“If he tells Liverpool he’s definitely leaving in the summer for nothing, at some point there is a price,” Borson said.

“At the end of the day, the equation is pretty simple for Liverpool if he is definitely leaving.

“If he is definitely leaving, do you want to take £25-30million now, and not have him for four or five months of the season? You would think probably not.

“You would probably just keep him and take the upside of actually trying to win these things with him in the squad.

“It’s quite a big financial call to say no to £30million when it’s for five months of the season. I can’t see Real Madrid offering more than £30million.

“That’s probably the ultimate decision for Liverpool, and that’s only if he says he’s definitely leaving.

“We don’t know yet, but if he is leaving and someone offers you £30million, I would say you are going to have to think twice about it.

“But I think much below that you would probably just say ‘No, we’ll let it play out, keep the player and see what happens’.”