Alexander-Arnold: Real Madrid are ready to pay £20m for Liverpool full-back
Real Madrid are reportedly prepared to pay £20m to bring Trent Alexander-Arnold to the Bernabeu this month.
The Liverpool full-back, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is now allowed to talk to other clubs about a pre-contract agreement, but it is understood the Premier League leaders are adamant their vice-captain will not leave the club in January.
Sky Sports previously said no formal offer had been made for the England defender, while Spanish media claimed the Liverpool academy graduate had told the Merseyside club he wanted to move to Real.
According to Paul Joyce of the Times, Real made their “first official move” by reaching out on New Year’s Eve, looking for a “discount.”
Now the Telegraph reports that Los Blancos are considering a formal offer in the region of £20m.
Real Madrid’s move increases pressure on Trent Alexander-Arnold to confirm Liverpool’s intentions#TelegraphFootball | #LFC
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) January 1, 2025
Alexander-Arnold is not the only Liverpool player whose contract expires in June. Both Mohamed Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk are yet to agree new contracts, meaning all three could leave in the summer, although Arne Slot’s side are on course to win the Premier League title.
Uncertainty over the influential trio’s future threatens to overshadow Slot’s hugely impressive start to date in Liverpool. Slot’s team is not only doing well in the league, but also has a 100 percent record in Europe and is in the last four of the Carabao Cup.
Alexander-Arnold said in December that contract negotiations would not take place publicly.
“I’ve been at the club for 20 years now,” he said. “I’ve signed four or five contract extensions and none of them have been made public – and this one won’t be either.”
But after the 26-year-old scored in Liverpool’s 5-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, he celebrated with a chirping hand gesture, apparently in reference to the intense speculation about his future.
Liverpool have FOUR!
Trent Alexander-Arnold scores from distance and the ball deflects off Max Kilman and lands in the goal 💫 pic.twitter.com/D5jeJeYMhL
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 29, 2024
Asked about the celebration, Slot said: “No, I don’t think it’s negative at all. He’s playing really well, scored a great goal and the way he celebrated his goal probably says enough. I don’t think I need to say much more about it.
“I’m really happy with Trent, as happy as I was with Mo (Salah) and Virgil. So for me there is no difference.
“To the outside world there may be a little more going on in the media surrounding Trent than the other two, but for now I’m happy with all three.”
