Liverpool have been handed two unwanted distractions to deal with in the build-up to one of their biggest matches of the season against Manchester City.
The Reds host City at Anfield in a Premier League match of great significance on Sunday, knowing a win will send them 11 points clear of their rivals at the top. The match comes at an opportune moment, with City on a six-match winless streak and struggling with injuries.
Arne Slot ’s side will be confident of their chances after beating Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League in mid-week. But while he was happy to beat Real on the pitch, Slot won’t have been amused by the Spanish giants’ move off it.
On Friday came the news that Real have contacted Liverpool to inform them of their desire to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold as a free agent at the end of the season. Alexander-Arnold is about to enter the final six months of his contract and will be allowed to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from January 1.
The subject of Alexander-Arnold’s future – and Real’s interest – is nothing new, but the timing of the latest development is not ideal. The right-back has shaken off an injury and is ready to start against City and the speculation is unwelcome, especially after the comments from another soon-to-be out-of-contract Liverpool star.
Mohamed Salah is in the same boat as Alexander-Arnold and has used his brilliant form to put pressure on the club to hand him a new contract. After scoring twice in the comeback win over Southampton last weekend, Salah stirred the pot with some provocative comments.
“We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club,” he told reporters. “I’m probably more out than in. You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.
Mohamed Salah is out of contract this summer (
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Getty Images)
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“I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see.” Asked if he felt disappointed that the club had not made him an offer, Salah replied: “Of course, yeah.”
Slot has always insisted that noise around Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Virgil van Dijk was not an issue and he has been proven correct, with Liverpool flying in the Premier League and Champions League. But it is certainly unhelpful and could have been avoided, had the club moved quicker in handing out new contracts, or in drawing a line in the sand.
“Look, I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public,” Alexander-Arnold said in September. “And this one won’t be either. I want to be a Liverpool player this season (as a minimum) is what I will say.
Trent Alexander-Arnold could be tempted to leave Liverpool for Real Madrid (
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“The most important thing is always trophies, if I am honest. I want to win trophies, I am a player who is highly motivated by trophies and winning things and being elite. So that is probably the main factor of anything, if you have a personality that is elite, who wants to win and will do anything to win, then that is what drives me.”
Liverpool are doing their best to fulfil Alexander-Arnold’s desires. They sit top of the Premier League and the Champions League – and a win over City on Sunday could strengthen their hand in keeping their homegrown superstar.
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