Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has dug out one particularly worrying factor behind Trent Alexander-Arnold's potential move to Real Madrid – and it may not be good news for Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool during a Liverpool training session at AXA Training Centre
Paul Scholes believes a lack of faith in their title potential could be Trent Alexander-Arnold's main reason for leaving Liverpool(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid this summer would hurt Liverpool in a number of ways – but Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has underlined one connotation of the proposed switch that could be the most worrying of all.
Alexander-Arnold, 26, looks increasingly likely to move to the Bernabeu when his contract at Anfield expires at the end of this season. And though the split has yet to be confirmed, his Anfield exit could just be the tip of the iceberg, with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk's deals also set to run out in June.
Thankfully for the Kop faithful, any departing players will more than likely leave with a Premier League winner's medal around their neck, given the Reds are well clear of nearest challengers Arsenal in the title race. But Scholes has identified the concern that Alexander-Arnold's major motivation to leave could well be because he doesn't see Liverpool dominating major competitions in the years to come.
"I try to imagine as if it was one of our players growing up," he said on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet. "We were a dominant team. We felt for a long time like we could go on and win leagues and challenge for European Cups – probably didn’t work out as well as we wanted...
"And I don't think any of us would have wanted to go. I really don't. If you talk about the Manchester United team now, and somebody came in, then yeah, good luck, you deserve to go.
"I think Trent is possibly looking at Liverpool and thinking other than they're a really good team – they're gonna win the Premier League – it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a dominant team for years to come..."
Paul Scholes on The Overlap
Arne Slot will of course do his utmost to disprove that theory, but one can see why Scholes – who retired at Old Trafford as a one-club man – may have concerns in that vein. And the club would have some sizeable holes in their usual XI that will need to be filled should the other two expiring contracts of note not be renewed.
He continued: "It still feels like there’s a few issues at Liverpool, obviously with Trent, Van Dijk and Mo Salah. You still think that there’s work to do. I think that's the main difference.
"And he'll go to Real Madrid, and Real Madrid are going to win leagues, they are going to win European Cups for probably the next 10 years. So I can understand him wanting to do it from that point of view."
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk
At least in the case of Alexander-Arnold, Slot has a ready-made replacement in Conor Bradley who has earned his own share of the spotlight. The same perhaps can't be said in central defence or on the wing should Van Dijk and Salah pack up their own bags and depart.
After barely spending in his first summer transfer window at the helm, Slot looks certain to have substantial funds available for his second act. However, there's no guarantee two players of such a generational magnitude can be adequately replaced – at least not instantly.
While a Premier League win in one's debut campaign is nothing to be sniffed at, Liverpool could well have landed a Treble in Slot's first season. The Reds recently lost to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, while they were knocked out of the Champions League following a penalty shootout defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain.
Those narrow losses likely won't have inspired confidence in Alexander-Arnold (nor others) that the club is ready to keep adding major titles to their trophy cabinet. And therein may lie the full-back's biggest reason for parting ways with his boyhood club.