Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is ‘close’ to leaving his boyhood club to agree a release transfer with Real Madrid next summer, according to a report in Spain.
The academy graduate is one of three Merseyside first-team stars who started the season on just one year’s contract. While Mohamed Salah Virgil van Dijk and both are believed to be keen to stay at Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold has done nothing delete the numerous links with Real Madrid.
As January 1 looms, marking the point at which players with contracts expiring in June 2025 can begin negotiations with foreign clubs, Liverpool he looks more and more likely to lose his playmaking defender.
MARC recently claimed that Alexander-Arnold had communicated to the club his desire to join Madrid next summer and now AS report that the deal is “90%” complete. The only element missing from the deal is the player’s signature, which cannot be applied until the start of the new year.
Alexander-Arnold is believed to have repeatedly turned down extension offers from his current employer, lured by the chance to play for the record-breaking European champions.
The latest report claims a deal will be done “soon, very soon” as Madrid have decided they need a youthful alternative to the aging (and injured) Dani Carvajal. If an Alexander-Arnold move unexpectedly fails, Madrid Tottenham Hotspur’s Pedro Porro, Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong and Sevilla youngster Juanlu are believed to be lined up as alternatives.
There is no chance that Madrid will pay a fee to pry Alexander-Arnold away from Anfield in January, but the club are “firmly optimistic” that a free transfer will be signed and sealed next summer in the coming weeks. However, no deal may be officially announced until the end of the season to avoid undermining Alexander-Arnold’s final months at Liverpool.
