The saga took another twist on New Year’s Eve when Liverpool turned down an approach for Alexander-Arnold from Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and reports in Spain have said the 26-year-old has informed Liverpool he wants to play for Madrid.
Melissa says: For Real Madrid, it shows us unequivocally that Alexander-Arnold is their top full-back target for the summer, so much so that they don’t want to wait until then and would be willing to pay upwards of £20m to get the right-back in advance of his free agency.
They wouldn’t have made an approach to Liverpool to get him in this window if there wasn’t encouragement from the player’s end – but it’s important to underline here that doesn’t mean Alexander-Arnold wants to leave Liverpool this month. He is in the middle of a negotiation, and it benefits him to have Real show their hand, to have Liverpool fight for him, for his boyhood club to know Real’s intentions and make him an offer worth considering.
He is in an incredibly strong position in terms of the negotiation.
Liverpool were never going to countenance Alexander-Arnold’s exit this month given their league and Champions League ambitions. They haven’t conceded defeat in keeping him and signing him to a new deal – and they won’t until he communicates that he wants to leave for Madrid. Until now, that has not been said.