Trent Alexander-Arnold's Response When Asked if He'd Like Jadon Sancho at Liverpool & How it Ties in to the Saga

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has said he would welcome Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho to Anfield because he is a ‘special talent’ and would make the Reds a better team.

Sancho has been heavily linked with Manchester United for several months and 90min first reported as far back as September the Old Trafford club are confident he will join at some point in 2020.

But Liverpool have never been far away headlines about Sancho either, even if a move to Merseyside is far less plausible or likely, and Alexander-Arnold’s comments have now only served to reignite that speculation.

“If he came to us, he’d make our team better,” the full-back said during a social media live stream with Michael Dapaah.

“So, I’d be more than happy for him to come because I played with him at England and he’s a special, special, special, special talent.”

Jadon Sancho & Liverpool

Speaking last year, manager Jurgen Klopp revealed Liverpool had been interested in Sancho when he left Manchester City in 2017. “We saw him, we liked him and then we think, ‘Can we get him?’ No, because English clubs don’t sell to other English clubs,” the boss explained.

In December, Klopp added that he considers Sancho a ‘very, very good player’, but insisted he has ‘no clue’ where the rumours about a Liverpool transfer have been coming from.

Despite Klopp’s interest and Alexander-Arnold’s glowing comments about his international colleague, a move to Liverpool has never looked like the most likely move for Sancho.

In terms of talent and style he would arguably be the perfect addition to the Reds’ squad, but the cost involved, combined with Liverpool’s transfer policy, makes it improbable.

It has been fairly well established that Liverpool, while objectively interested, have no desire to spend the kind of money it would take to sign players like Sancho, who is expected to cost £100m, or Kylian Mbappe, who is another star regularly linked with Liverpool.

David Ornstein wrote for The Athletic in January that it is ‘probable that neither Sancho nor Mbappe will end up at Anfield for the foreseeable future’, describing Liverpool as having ‘little interest’ in spending the kind of money it would take to land such players.

Previously, Melissa Reddy wrote for The Independent that cost would also likely dictate any pursuit of Kai Havertz, with Liverpool valuing the player at little over half his £80m+ price tag, again underlining the importance of controlled spending in the club’s transfer plans.

An element of this is also being unable to guarantee automatic starts for anyone new, with no intention of breaking up existing front three Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Jadon Sancho & Man Utd

90min revealed in late March that Manchester United will not be beaten on price and their commitment to signing Sancho has made him feel so wanted it has been suggested even potentially having to give up Champions League football to head to Old Trafford would not impact his decision.

News from German author Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic supports that. It is evident that United may not be immediately ready to challenge for major silverware, but the role that is being offered to Sancho at Old Trafford as part of the ongoing project holds appeal to him.

“Manchester United can’t promise titles to Sancho straight away. But they can promise him to be the leading star in a new team that is emerging. From what I’ve been told that is quite appealing to him,” Honigstein said.

On top of that, 90min also revealed in March that United think they have done enough to persuade Sancho to join them, as is also the case with fellow target Jude Bellingham.

Other Competition

However, there could yet be more competition. German publication Bild claims that Barcelona have joined Real Madrid in taking an interest in Sancho. It comes as Dortmund have been tipped to target Barça teenager Ansu Fati as a replacement for Sancho.

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