Real Madrid have had a long-standing interest in Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold but they are about to face some stiff competition from arch-rivals Barcelona, as per a report in Fichajes.
Trent has entered the final 12 months of his contract but he is yet to sign an extension with Liverpool. This has led Real Madrid to believe that they will be able to land the England defender as a free agent next summer while opening talks in January.
Barcelona are struggling financially and that has impacted their transfer business this summer. The club’s only big signing till now has been Dani Olmo and the lack of funds has stopped them from going after players like Nico Williams and Luis Diaz. In such a scenario, signing a top talent like TAA as a free agent will be a big boost for Deco and Joan Laporta.
Liverpool fully understand how valuable Trent Alexander-Arnold is which is why the Reds are not ready to lose him. As per multiple reports, the Anfield outfit are already holding contract talks with Alexander-Arnold and the management is confident that he will agree to remain at the club beyond the 24/25 season.
Will Barcelona be able to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Madrid?
It’s still unclear what Trent Alexander-Arnold wants to do with his future but Real Madrid are very confident that they will be able to tempt him out of the Premier League.
Madrid are privately working on a Bosman deal for the English right-back but if Barcelona are seriously interested in signing him then Perez will have his work cut out. The lure of a club like Madrid is irresistible but at the same time, Barcelona are no push-overs either.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has played games for Liverpool, making 100 goal contributions for the club and the 25-year-old is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League right now. Last campaign, he had an xA of 2.61 and an xA of 6.09 in 37 league matches. He had 8 shots on target plus he created 64 major chances for the Anfield outfit. Defensively, he is a bit doggy but the La Liga is a very attack-minded league so he should be fine.
Barcelona are still trying really hard to bring back Joao Cancelo from Manchester City and if they can sign the Portugal international on a permanent move then there’s no need for them to go after Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Barca want to sign Cancelo on a loan move this season with an option to buy next year and if MCFC agree to these terms then Hansi Flick will have a top-class right-back in his squad for the next couple of years.
Another reason why Barcelona won’t be able to compete with Real Madrid is the fact that TAA currently earns around €210,000 per week and if he is ready to leave Liverpool, the England international will demand a massive increase in his wages. Paying around €300,000-350,000 per week will be very hard for the Catalans.
If Trent Alexander-Arnold does not sign a new contract within the next few weeks then it’s almost certain that he wants to leave Liverpool. Currently, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two favourites to sign but when the time comes, it will most likely be the Los Blancos who will be the clear winners in this transfer race.
