Real Madrid reach final decision on Alexander-Arnold sale as Reds ‘would’ have him back

The Reds were powerless to stop the England international leaving to the Spanish giants in the summer of 2025 as Alexander-Arnold ran down his contract at Anfield.

Liverpool did manage to get around £8.4m from Real Madrid for Alexander-Arnold with Los Blancos paying a fee to get the Scouser to the Bernabeu on time to participate in the Club World Cup.

Alexander-Arnold did not live up to expectations in his first season at Real Madrid, starting just 14 La Liga matches, with injury hampering his progress along the way.

And the former Liverpool defender has once again been struggling for game time this season with just four La Liga starts to his name under Jose Mourinho.

There have been rumours that the Reds could look to bring him back to Anfield in the January transfer window, either on loan or permanently.

And ex-Liverpool striker Dean Saunders reckons Alexander-Arnold will be welcomed back by Reds fans despite their negative reaction to him leaving.

Saunders said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: “I think Liverpool fans would absolutely have Trent Alexander-Arnold back at the club.

“Liverpool played with eight different right-backs last season, including Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboslai, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, Ryan Gravenberch, and it was quite obvious at the start of the season that Trent was the reason why Liverpool used to make so many chances, he was like a quarterback.”

“Salah definitely would have missed him. He could hit a 50-yard ball onto Diaz’s chest. He played in-field didn’t he, and Salah played outside him. Then Frimpong signed, and he’s playing outside Salah, on the touchline high and wide.”

“Liverpool lost a lot when he left. But the obvious question mark is his defending, but then you ask, who’s a better defender than him, none of them are the best defenders.”

“When I was watching the game against Arsenal and there were 10 minutes to go, Rio Ngumoha came on on the right, with Victor Munoz behind him – I just thought Liverpool were missing that quality ball from Trent – he’s irreplaceable.”

Mourinho isn’t keen on losing Alexander-Arnold, while the former Reds defender is ‘determined to fight his way back into the fold in the Spanish capital’.

Despite his lack of starts for Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold ‘is not ready to push for an exit just yet’ and it would be ‘difficult’ for Liverpool or Chelsea, who have also been linked, to bring the England international back to the Premier League in the January transfer window.