'He wants to': Journalist shares what Alexander-Arnold's camp have just told him about Real Madrid move

01/03/2025 07:30 AM

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future very much hangs in the balance after Real Madrid officially made an approach to sign him from Liverpool.

Their approach was immediately rebuffed, but this is surely not the end of the saga as the Spanish giants have courted him for well over a year.

Alexander-Arnold’s current Liverpool deal expires in the summer and there have been reports that Los Blancos will return with a superior offer in January or look to snap him up on a free transfer in six months time.

And now, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has shared what he’s heard from Alexander-Arnold’s camp about a potential departure in January.

Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t want to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid in January

The 26-year-old is caught in the middle as he has to choose between remaining at his boyhood club or moving on to arguably the biggest club in the history of the game.

Alexander-Arnold has two demands to sign a new contract at Liverpool, which is to put pen to paper on a three-year deal and be next in line to captain the club after Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool remain in talks to tie him down to a new deal, but it remains to be seen what happens if Real Madrid come back with another offer.

Crook says he heard from the Liverpool vice-captain’s camp that a January departure will not be entertained as he doesn’t want to leave the Reds in the middle of a title race.

"Crucially, I'm told from sources close to Trent Alexander-Arnold himself that he's not keen to move mid-season either,” said Crook on talkSPORT.

“If he is to join Real Madrid and become a Galactico, he wants to do it at the end of the season and not leave Liverpool in the lurch in January."

What did Slot say about Alexander-Arnold?

When asked if he spoke to the 26-year-old after Real Madrid’s bid was launched, Slot simply confirmed that he did and refused to go into the details, which is a sign that Liverpool want to deal with everything privately.

However, Slot confirmed that Alexander-Arnold will play against Manchester United on Sunday as speculation surrounding his future continues to dominate the back pages.

The saga won’t be played out publicly in the sense that we won’t have Slot or Alexander-Arnold addressing the issue in front of the media, but they will be working behind the scenes to reach some kind of a solution that suits all parties.