Speculation surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool future continues to dominate the back pages.
The 26-year-old’s contract runs out at the end of the season and he’s not closer to agreeing an extension, with his future very much hanging in the balance.
Real Madrid have already had one bid rejected for Alexander-Arnold in January and are weighing up the possibility of returning with another offer.
In the meantime, they continue to chase him on a free transfer as Liverpool work towards tying him down to an extension.
Yesterday, reports from Spain claimed Alexander-Arnold has already given his word to Madrid to join the club.
And now, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook has shared his information on the situation.
Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn’t agreed to leave Liverpool and join Real Madrid
Alexander-Arnold has been in fine form for Liverpool and England this season, but in recent weeks, all the talk about his future has affected his exploits on the pitch.
He endured a hard time against Manchester United in a game that finished 2-2, although he did make amends with his cameo against Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup and the 4-0 FA Cup win against Accrington Stanley.
Off the pitch, all the chatter about his future has shown no signs of dying down, with Spanish newspaper Marca reporting yesterday that Alexander-Arnold has given his word to Real Madrid.
The report stated that his move to the Spanish capital is a matter of when rather than if, as it remains to be seen whether he joins in January or at the end of the season.
And now, Crook believes those claims at wide of the mark, with the 26-year-old still mulling over his future as he prepares to make a decision in the coming weeks.
“This has been one of the sagas of the transfer window so far,” said Crook on talkSPORT.
“There has been a report from Marca suggesting Trent Alexander-Arnold has reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid at the end of the season. Marca are very much a mouthpiece for Real Madrid so we’ll take that with a pinch of salt.
“Our understanding is he’s yet to relay any final decision to Liverpool but Real Madrid are growing in confidence – we can report this morning – that Alexander-Arnold will join his England teammate Jude Bellingham at the Bernabeu.
“Sources at Anfield are acutely aware that the longer this saga goes on, the growing possibility is that Alexander-Arnold will leave.”
What next for Alexander-Arnold?
Liverpool have offered Alexander-Arnold a new contract, but with the club also locked in talks to secure the future of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, it remains to be seen if they are successful in their attempts.
The 26-year-old said his contract saga with the club won’t play out publicly and has refrained from speaking about his future, but that doesn’t mean conversations aren’t being had behind the scenes.
The Reds have their work cut out for them between now and the end of the season and need the saga to conclude soon to avoid it from spilling into the business end of the campaign.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
