Summary
Alexander-Arnold set to leave Liverpool to join Real Madrid next season.
Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are being touted as long-term replacements for the 26-year-old.
The three defenders' league statistics from the 2024/25 season have been compared.
One of the worst-kept secrets in football is finally out – Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to swap Anfield for the Santiago Bernabeu next season after reportedly agreeing a deal with Real Madrid for when his contract expires at Liverpool this summer. The 26-year-old will link up with international teammate Jude Bellingham in the Spanish capital, while leaving a hole that Arne Slot will no doubt need to fill immediately.
The Dutchman has a big decision to make as to how he can replace the Englishman, and luckily, he is spoiled for choice with his options. On one hand, some may argue that the club has a ready-made replacement in Conor Bradley, who has acted as the back-up to Alexander-Arnold and performed brilliantly when called upon, with the potential to be a major player moving forward. The Reds could also dip into the transfer market, with Jeremie Frimpong a name that has been suggested as a possible incoming.
As for who is the right choice and whether or not they will be able to replace the outgoing Alexander-Arnold, we have compiled some statistics over the course of the trio's respective 2024/2025 league campaigns to see who is the strongest across three key categories – defending, attacking, and passing.
All statistics taken per 90 minutes.
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Defending
Despite criticism, Alexander-Arnold is the best across this category
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The majority of Alexander-Arnold's critics will tell you that while he is one of the best right-backs ever offensively, it is the defensive side of his game that lets him down. However, the numbers compared to Bradley and Frimpong per ninety minutes make for different reading.
Across the five defensive categories measured, the Three Lions star comes out on top in all five – ground duels won, ground duels success rate, interceptions, blocked shots, and tackles made. In the other two – clearances and ball recoveries – Alexander-Arnold takes the runners-up spot, and in the latter category, he is just 0.6 recoveries away from his current teammate, who leads the way.
Bradley also leads in clearances, with Frimpong lagging behind in all fronts, which may be a result of Xabi Alonso's slightly different system that he deploys at Bayer Leverkusen.
Alexander-Arnold vs Bradley vs Frimpong Statistics - Defending
Stats
Ground Duels Won
Ground Duels Success (%)
Clearances
Interceptions
Blocked Shots
Tackles Made
Ball Recoveries
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Attacking
Frimpong impresses more in attack than in defence
Jeremie Frimpong
While it isn't a good showing defensively for the Leverkusen man, it is clear his strengths lie moving forward, as he has certainly proven to be the bigger goal threat. In years gone by, that wouldn't have been important for this role, but the evolution of the modern game has seen full-backs take on greater responsibility in the final third, so his four goals and five assists may be something appealing to Slot.
Alexander-Arnold does come out on top in assists, though only by one, and he does create more chances per game than either of his rivals, with Frimpong having the better conversion rate. The only area Bradley stands out in is his percentage of shots on target, though he hasn't been able to find the net with this.
Alexander-Arnold vs Bradley vs Frimpong Statistics - Attacking
Stats
Goals
Assists
Shot Accuracy (%)
Conversion Rate (%)
Chances Created
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Passing
Alexander-Arnold a dominant force
MixCollage-25-Mar-2025-10-41-AM-7425
In terms of how effective the three are in possession, it is very much one-way traffic in favour of Alexander-Arnold. The 26-year-old made a name for himself as a rather unorthodox full-back purely because of his range of passing, which would rival most centre-midfielders. As a result of that, it perhaps shouldn't be too much of a surprise to see him take the crown in five of seven categories once again.
Like with attacking, anything the Liverpool number 66 doesn't win, Bradley does. What is quite eye-catching, though, is how many fewer passes Frimpong plays and completes in relation to the other two. This could suggest that he would need to seriously adapt to Slot's way of playing.
|Alexander-Arnold vs Bradley vs Frimpong Statistics - Passing|
|Stats|Alexander-Arnold|Bradley|Frimpong|
|Passes Attempted|61.2|60.1|27|
|Passes Completed|47.9|50.6|22.6|
|Passing Accuracy (%)|78.17|84.36|83.8|
|Crosses Attempted|5.9|1|4.3|
|Crosses Completed|1.6|0.3|0.9|
|Crossing Accuracy (%)|27.14|25|20.24|
|Passes in Opp Half|30.6|25.8|16.4|
|---|
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Conclusion
Bradley and Frimpong may both be needed to replace Trent
What is clear from the statistics is that Alexander-Arnold is the strongest and even the most complete of all three options. Whether his defensive game is respected by the Kop or not, he will be a miss at both ends of the pitch. And in truth, neither Frimpong nor Bradley have stats that match up to the 26-year-old's, which would convince anyone that they would be able to replace him on their own.
Frimpong is more experienced, and there is an argument that his stats look worse in comparison, particularly going forward, because the role he plays in Germany is vastly different. Perhaps he could just slot into a new system with ease. On the other hand, that is an incredibly big risk to take without knowing for sure. But is Bradley ready to step in and become a permanent fixture in the Liverpool first team? That is another unanswered question.
What we do know is that Alexander-Arnold has had to step up and step out with Bradley around, and maybe the same could be said if Frimpong moves to Anfield. There could be friendly competition between the two, and if one is struggling, the other could come in to take on the workload.
All statistics courtesy of the Premier League and Squawka - accurate as of 27/03/2025.