Arne Slot has admitted that Liverpool did his best to try to convince Trent Alexander-Arnold to sign a new contract in the club.
While the Reds managed to tie Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk to New Termes, Alexander-Arnold has on the right chose to move away from the club with a free transfer This summer, with a change to Real Madrid, all over.
Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave, above all, free of charge, has caused a significant frustration between Liverpool Fans and slot opened in their own feelings of disappointment.
“Trent is not the first and will not be the last to leave a special club,” he said. “We did our best to keep it and then we have to accept his decision.
“Maybe you can understand that he wants a new challenge because, if he is so many years in the same league, some players want to experience something else.
“It is a disappointment for the fans, teammates and for me (this) goes away. We will miss a very good human and a very, very good backward.”
Questions have been asked about Alexander-Arnold’s reception on the last three games of the Liverpool season, from a visit to Arsenal Sunday. The slot acknowledged that there is likely to have a certain tension, but he urged supporters to stick behind the team in general.
“That people have an opinion about us, if it is thirty or me or someone else, it is not new to anyone,” the head continued. “It’s probably a little more for him than he is used to and probably a little more negative, but I don’t follow all this. I’m not here to tell the fans how they should react.
“We are all disappointed, but Trent is the first one who also said that we would prefer as a team and a club that will not be too distracted by this ad. I hope all the energy on Sunday goes to the players and less possible to thirty, unless it is positive, then they can do everything they want.
“I worked at clubs like Az Alkmaar and Feyenoord, where every season, a very good player or several very good players left the club, so I’m a little more accustomed. But the experience I have, and by the way, also this club is that if a very good player leaves the next player very good, and this will probably happen now.”
Aligned to fill the gap left by the departure of Alexander-Arnold, it is the graduate of the Academy, Conor Bradley, who will begin the Sunday meeting with Arsenal with the aim of preparing it for a larger role next season.
Slot added: “You will not be surprised if I say that everyone gets a program during the summer. We want to keep them in shape, but they also have to enjoy a few days off. Conor has such intense play style. They all run a lot, but Conor is in their own league. Comparable perhaps with (Achraf) Hakimi in PSG. It’s everywhere during the game.
“But Hakimi is 26.
“To become a very good player, you have to be available every week, and this is the first step that you have to take next season. But we have confidence in Conor as good for Liverpool and this is what she has shown.
“Conor will start (against Arsenal). It takes the play time to get some games under the belt and be better prepared for next season.”
