Not unsurprisingly, reports from Spanish media that Trent Alexander-Arnold is intent on a move to Real Madrid appear to have been wide of the mark.
On Saturday morning, Liverpool fans woke up to a front page from the print edition of Marca which claimed that the Reds’ vice-captain wants to join the Champions League holders and has informed the Anfield hierarchy of his apparent wishes.
However, sources closer to home indicate that the 26-year-old has done nothing of the sort and that his sole focus right now is on helping his boyhood club to win silverware this season.
Trent rumours played down by local sources
Following those reports from Spain, Theo Squires wrote in the Liverpool Echo: “Cue mass hysteria. Or perhaps not. The ECHO understands that as things stand, Alexander-Arnold has not communicated to Liverpool that he has chosen to join Real Madrid.
“Consequently, from an outside view at least, the full-back’s future remains up in the air ahead of the January transfer window opening and the first opportunity for a pre-contract agreement to be signed.
“For his part, Alexander-Arnold has always insisted that he will not speak about his future in public out of respect for his boyhood club. But he has been clear that he wishes to see out the campaign with the Reds.”
Trent has a massive decision to make
In the same article, Squires also pointed to a report from The Telegraph‘s Chris Bascombe in which it was stated that Trent is continuing talks with Liverpool over a potential new contract (as per his ‘preference’) and that club chiefs are ‘relaxed’ about the situation.
That makes two reliable sources close to the Merseyside club who’ve effectively debunked the wild reports from Marca that the 26-year-old wants out of Anfield and only has eyes for the Bernabeu.
It’d be very much understandable if the right-back were giving serious consideration to joining Real Madrid, an opportunity which isn’t afford to many players in world football, but the chance to become an all-time great with his local team surely isn’t one he’d want to give up too easily.
It looks as though the Trent saga could run for another few weeks yet as he thinks long and hard about what’s best for his career.
The only advice we can give him is that he’d be just another cog in the machine at the Bernabeu, where the pressure to perform can be suffocating; but staying at Liverpool would virtually ensure him legend status for generations to come.
