Report: Liverpool 'know' Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave amid strong Real Madrid interest
- Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool contract expires in the summer of 2025
- The English right-back is Real Madrid's 'priority'
- Madrid are also interested in another Premier League defender
Liverpool are reportedly consigned to losing Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2025, who has emerged as the prime target for Real Madrid.
The club's academy graduate grew up within walking distance of Liverpool's old training ground, peaking over the fence to get a glimpse of his idols. After establishing himself as one of the world's leading right-backs while turning out for the Reds, Alexander-Arnold's contract expires in June 2025.
The 26-year-old can agree a pre-contract agreement with a European club in January ahead of a free transfer and has repeatedly been linked with a move to Madrid.
According to reports from the Spanish publication Marca, there has been no direct contact between the clubs, but Madrid supposedly "know" Alexander-Arnold will not renew his deal with Liverpool. The England international has been cryptic when addressing the topic of his expiring contract in public, refusing to commit to a future at Anfield.
Marca even suggested Madrid could be tempted into a winter move for Alexander-Arnold given the proliferation of injuries throughout the club's backline. First-choice right-back Dani Carvajal will miss the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, leaving 33-year-old former winger Lucas Vazquez as the only senior right-back. If Alexander-Arnold is to become Madrid's first winter signing since COVID-19, the Premier League outfit would demand "a significant amount of money".
The Athletic insist an approach for Alexander-Arnold is only viable if he runs down his Liverpool contract, but confirm that Madrid have made the English right-back their "priority".
Madrid are also reportedly interested in Tottenham Hotspur's Pedro Porro, who has emerged as a consistent creative outlet for Ange Postecoglou's Premier League side. Bayer Leverkusen's jet-heeled Jeremie Frimpong and Sevilla's 21-year-old Juanlu are also on the club's shortlist of summer recruits. Unlike Alexander-Arnold, all of those alternatives would need a transfer fee.
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