According to reports, incoming Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso has been in “contact” with Liverpool over another raid on the Premier League giants this summer.
Alonso has reportedly ‘signed’ his contract to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid after announcing that he would leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of this campaign.
The Spaniard has a huge job at Real Madrid, who have endured a hugely disappointing season without a trophy in 2024/25.
Real Madrid’s priority is to overhaul their defence and they have their eye on Liverpool, with Trent Alexander-Arnold set to join the Spanish giants on a free transfer upon the expiry of his current contract.
The La Liga outfit have also been linked with Liverpool standout Alexis Mac Allister and former Premier League scout Mick Brown – who ‘remains very well-connected within the game’ – claims the club and Alonso are in for the centre-midfielder.
“Real Madrid have got some problems going into the window,” Brown told Football Insider.
READ: Six Leverkusen standouts reassigned post-Alonso to Real Madrid with Liverpool given two signings
“The manager has gone, it looks like Xabi Alonso will be the one to replace him.
“Then you’ve got the two centre-halves who need replacing, and there’s been a bit of talk they want to sign a new midfielder as well.
“So they need three or four players, and they’ve got to be top-level players which aren’t easy to find. They’ve got Alexander-Arnold coming in so that’s one position off their list.
“Alexis Mac Allister is a player I hear they have been looking at as well.
“The new manager knows the Liverpool scene well, he’ll still have his contacts at the club and he’ll be speaking to them about a possible deal. It would be a huge deal.
“So he’ll know the situation as much as any opposition manager can do.”
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Real Madrid are also linked with Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate, whose current contract will expire at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson reckons Liverpool are playing a “very dangerous game” with Konate as Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk could have followed Alexander-Arnold in departing this summer.
“I think it’s a very dangerous game to play to allow major players to go into the last year of their contract if they’re of an age where you definitely want to sign them up for three or four years more,” Borson said.
“Konate is only 26 at the end of May, but he’s coming into his prime, particularly for a central defender. They are not going to want to lose him on a free.
“They will be fully aware that Real Madrid are getting very accomplished now at taking these players on free transfers.
“They have done it for a long time and used the benefit and the scale of the club as a recruitment tool that pretty much nobody else in world football can compete with. I do think there is some risk if they’re interested in the player.
“A lot of these rumours that have started have turned out to be true when they’ve gone after these players. The Alexander-Arnold story was out there last year that they were looking to make him a free transfer.
“It was true, so I think Liverpool will be pretty cautious and will try to nail the player down much earlier than they did with Salah and Van Dijk.”