Trent Alexander-Arnold: Should Liverpool right-back join Real Madrid?
Published 2 January 2025
What next for Trent Alexander-Arnold?
It's the question that has been asked all season - and now the Liverpool right-back is officially allowed to talk to clubs from abroad, the noise will only get louder.
The 26-year-old is, as most football fans will surely know by now, out of contract this summer and is being heavily linked with a free-transfer move to Real Madrid when his deal expires.
The silence around his future from both clubs and the player himself remains deafening, despite countless newspaper headlines, but there is undoubtedly a lot going on in the background.
Former England striker Gary Lineker, who moved to Barcelona from Everton in 1986, told the Rest is Football podcast, external he could understand it if Alexander-Arnold opted to move to the Bernabeu.
He said: "Trent would love it there. They will worship him, they will appreciate his incredible passing range."
But what is the situation at the moment, what do the fans think and how much would Liverpool miss him?
What is the latest on Alexander-Arnold's situation?
Like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold is into the final six months of his contract at Liverpool.
But while Salah and Van Dijk have provided snippets of information about contract talks, Alexander-Arnold has been tight-lipped.
In September, he said negotiations over a new deal would not be played out in public but since then has been linked with moves elsewhere.
Sources recently said there had been an approach - but no offer - from Real Madrid about signing Alexander-Arnold in January, which Liverpool rebuffed.
Spanish media also reported Real were willing to buy the England international this month but are more likely to sign him on a pre-contract agreement for the summer.