GIRONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 10: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Girona FC and Liverpool FC at Montilivi Stadium on December 10, 2024 in Girona, Spain. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
GIRONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 10: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Girona FC and Liverpool FC at Montilivi Stadium on December 10, 2024 in Girona, Spain. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arne Slot has dropped a major hint that he is considering allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold has been a key part of Liverpool's first-team since breaking through from the academy in 2016. The right-back has helped the Reds to win the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.
But his contract will expire at the end of the season, with no sign yet of any progress in talks over a new deal. The England international has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid when his contract expires.
Star attacker Mohamed Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk will also see their contracts expire at the end of the campaign. And it appears that Slot is already preparing for life without Alexander-Arnold.
[
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According to Sky Germany, Slot is on the search for a traditional right-back who can fit into a back four. That is not a role that Alexander-Arnold tends to occupy, with the Englishman preferring to push higher into midfield.
Though he has enjoyed a successful campaign in Slot's first season in charge, it appears the Dutchman is ready to return to his preferred defensive system come the summer. It is further claimed that the Reds are weighing up a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong.
The 24-year-old has impressed and helped Leverkusen win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double last season. But his role as a wing-back means he does not fit into Slot's system, with the Reds' interest far from concrete as a result.
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Trent-Alexander Arnold
Trent-Alexander Arnold is out of contract in the summer
That claim would appear to suggest that Alexander-Arnold is also not the ideal right-back for Slot's system. Alexander-Arnold has made it clear in recent days that he is loving life under Slot.
"The level of detail he has… I find myself smiling about it because that's the kind of thing that I really enjoy. It's just football in like a very, very in-depth level. I could tell from the first time I met him that I was going to enjoy playing under him and being a part of this," he told Sky Sports.
"He has explained a lot about how positioning is so important in football and where you are. Even when the ball's completely on the other side, where you need to be. And that changes throughout games, and for each and every game depending on how the opposition is set up.
"It depends on the opposition, so it changes a lot and that's something that I like - to be challenged and have to think about things during games and feel like I'm being challenged. So, it's something that I think suits my style of personality.
"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 - and this one won't be either."
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