Liverpool have made one final attempt to get Trent Alexander-Arnold to commit his future to the Reds instead of Real Madrid, according to reports.
Arne Slot’s side have been in amazing form in the Premier League this season with Liverpool needing just one more win to seal their 20th top-flight crown.
Arsenal are still 13 points adrift of the Reds following the weekend’s results, which saw Liverpool beat Leicester City 1-0 after the Gunners had overcome Ipswich Town 4-0 earlier on Sunday.
And, with the Premier League title all but assured, Liverpool are turning their attention to the summer and potential new contracts for current players.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk – who were out of contract at the end of the season – renewed their deals at Liverpool earlier this month as the Reds look fairly settled ahead of next term.
But it now looks likely that Alexander-Arnold will leave Anfield with rumours over the past few months that Real Madrid have agreed personal terms on a free transfer for the Liverpool academy graduate.
However, former Man Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster reckons that his celebration after scoring the winning goal against Leicester makes Alexander-Arnold’s future less obvious.
Foster said on his podcast: “I’m genuinely not sure right now [whether he goes]. I’m trying to think.
“If that was me in that situation and I’m taking my shirt off and I’m looking at the crowd. It’s the way that he looks at the crowd. I think we can read into this a little bit.”
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And now Spanish website Fichajes insists that Liverpool have ‘made one last attempt to renew’ Alexander-Arnold’s contract at Anfield.
The report admits that the England international has ‘one foot in the door at Real Madrid’ but that Liverpool ‘are not willing to give up’ on him staying.
Fichajes adds:
‘In recent months, the relationship between Alexander-Arnold and the Reds has been marked by uncertainty. Although the player has always shown commitment to the Anfield club, talks for a contract extension have not progressed as expected.
‘This situation has been exploited by Real Madrid’s sporting management, which has moved quickly to complete a strategic signing without having to pay a transfer fee.
‘Liverpool, for its part, is refusing to accept the loss of one of its most iconic players in recent times. The club’s offices are working against the clock to present a final renewal offer that might convince the defender to stay on Merseyside.
‘However, feelings within the player’s entourage suggest that this gesture would come too late and would not change his decision.
‘The desire to begin a new era in LaLiga seems firm. The possibility of being part of a project like Real Madrid’s, coupled with the challenge of competing in another league, is hugely appealing to the English international.
‘If nothing goes wrong in the coming weeks, Alexander-Arnold will end his time in the Premier League and take an important step in his career, heading to the Santiago Bernabeu.’
Liverpool captain Van Dijk insists Alexander-Arnold “deserved that moment” against Leicester but admits he hasn’t pushed the right-back on his future.
Van Dijk said: “I think we forget that we are dealing with a human being. Sometimes he goes through so many moments in the last couple of months and everyone will have an opinion on the way he’s obviously been. There’s a lot of noise around him and obviously everyone can argue if it’s his own fault, [but] it’s just part of life nowadays.
“So when he scores a big goal like that, I think he deserves applause for stepping up in that particular moment and to soak it all in because whether he stays or leaves, these are moments which you shouldn’t take for granted to give us as a team the opportunity to finish it off.
“So I think he deserved that moment and now it’s back to work and be ready for the weekend.”
When asked whether he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold about his future, Van Dijk replied: “I think he was under a lot of pressure already so there’s no point for me to put him on the spot.”
