Watching Trent Alexander-Arnold in a Real Madrid shirt for the first time certainly didn't look quite right just yet. But plenty of Liverpool fans would have been tuning in to see how he got on against Al Hilal at the Club World Cup.
The answer? Mixed. He wasn't able to take the game by the scruff of the neck, but that isn't always easy as a right-back settling into a new team. Xabi Alonso is yet to work with his players for long and there will be an adjustment period — hence why Real Madrid was keen to get its new number 12 through the door as early as possible.
Alexander-Arnold was taken off around the hour mark and Real Madrid didn't win the game, but it remains one of the favorites — alongside the likes of PSG — to go all the way in the new tournament in the US.
In terms of his performance, he was beaten a few times defensively, but that is no surprise. The appeal of him has always primarily been going the other way, where his influence, on this occasion, was limited.
Before that game, the Liverpool academy graduate was spotted sticking close to Jude Bellingham in training. His England teammate could be a key ally at club level moving forward.
While it didn't go down particularly well among Liverpool supporters, that Alexander-Arnold spoke some Spanish at his unveiling went a long way to impressing those at Madrid. The language is something that he will have to continue to work on.
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his debut for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his debut for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
"It’s easy to forget that for a while Madrid were put off by British players after the struggles of the likes of Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate," David Alvarez, of the El Pais newspaper, told the Daily Mail.
"They (Madrid) lacked confidence with English players and had doubts over their adaptation to Spain. Jude transformed that and the success of Jude certainly put more confidence in Madrid."
Sticking with Bellingham, then, is probably not a bad idea. And on the pitch, too, there will be hopes that Alexander-Arnold and the Real Madrid number five can strike up a relationship at the Bernabeu and beyond.
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"An amazing day to make my debut for Real Madrid," Alexander-Arnold told Dazn afterwards. "Almost what every player dreams of.
"Incredible, I felt the support from the moment I signed for the club. Sensational. The fanbase is truly global all over the world. You feel it every single day."
That is true, of course, in a positive sense. But it will also be true the other way if Alexander-Arnold doesn't perform. Even more so than at Liverpool, if he isn't producing a top level, he will soon hear about it from the stands.
Learning Spanish is one thing and bonding with Bellingham is another. Now, the pressure is on to start delivering the passes and assists that Liverpool got to see for so long.