Liverpool boss Arne Slot refused to give anything away on the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold amid reported transfer talks with Real Madrid.
The right-back is expected to swap Anfield for the Bernabeu this summer when his contract runs out, with reports suggesting he is on the verge of agreeing a deal with the Spanish giants.
Slot was predictably asked about the situation in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday morning, but swerved questions by stating the club’s focus is on getting Alexander-Arnold fit again. The England international suffered an ankle injury against PSG that is expected to keep him out until the end of April.
Liverpool ‘not affected’ by Alexander-Arnold transfer talks
“His situation is unfortunately that he is injured, otherwise people would have probably spoken about him that he had one or two brilliant performances for the England team,” the Dutchman said. “But he’s injured and for him that means he is fully focused on his recovery and for us that means we are trying to help him to be back as soon as he can.
“For the rest, of course, for eight months it went a bit up and down maybe, with all kinds of talks about him, Virgil or Mo. But we have never been focused on those talks, we have always been focused on what we have to do.
“For Virgil and Mo that is trying to win the Merseyside derby, and for Trent that is making sure he is can get fit as soon as he can.”
Alexander-Arnold is one of three Liverpool stars who could leave the club for nothing this summer, with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk also fast approaching the end of their current contracts.
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Asked if he was concerned about what impact reports on contract talks could have on the team, Slot responded: “No, it’s a situation that is there for eight months now and all these three players have performed so well under these circumstances so it doesn’t affect me at all.
“I think there was a bit of noise about us losing against Paris St-Germain and us losing against Newcastle as well. I always try to be rational. I was a bit more frustrated about the final, because I think we deserved to lose that one. For the first time we deserved to lose a football game.”
Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield on Wednesday, with kickoff slated for 8pm.
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