Much of the summer and this season has been dedicated to discussing the future of three men – Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
With our captain and top goal scorer on the brink of agreeing a new deal, there is an obvious omission from this trio and how the club handles the next step will be interesting to see.
It’s seems pretty obvious now that the Scouser will leave the club on a free and David Ornstein provided his latest update via The Athletic: ‘Alexander-Arnold, whose current deal also expires this summer, was a different case given his age and the fact that he had Madrid pursuing him.
‘The 26-year-old England international is expected to complete a free transfer to the Bernabeu.’
This suggests that other clubs were not ‘pursuing’ his teammates, though it seems more likely they were less open to the chances of this happening.
Fabrizio Romano has stated that there is now an urgency to make this news public about the two new deals but that leaves everyone in a sticky position with our vice captain.
How should the club address Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure?
We have seen with the messages left around Anfield before the Merseyside derby that many supporters are not happy with the England international turning his back on his club.
Whether you support his decision or not, to go from stating that you want to spend the rest of your career playing for your boyhood team and then leave on a free – is not a good look.
If we do see news of Salah and Van Dijk agreeing new contracts, then it becomes even more obvious that our No.66 is not going to be staying.
With the Reds seemingly on the brink of winning the Premier League, it’s going to be hard to find a way to confirm Trent’s departure without distracting from the big prize.
Whether you agree or not, some people won’t want to see the right back on the pitch in a red shirt and will give him a bad time if he does – meaning Arne Slot will have to juggle a very sensitive position.
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