Liverpool boss Arne Slot has taken a brutal swipe at Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of what will be the right-back’s final appearance for his boyhood club this Sunday. The 20-time Premier League champions are set to welcome recent FA Cup winners Crystal Palace to Anfield, where they’ll lift the league trophy in front of home fans for the first time in 36 years - followed by a celebratory open-top bus parade oaround the city n Monday.
Once the festivities are over, Alexander-Arnold will turn his attention to the next chapter of his career with Real Madrid. The England international plans to join the Spanish giants once his contract expires on June 30, though negotiations are ongoing for Los Blancos to pay a small fee to bring him to the Bernabeu early so he can take part in this summer’s revamped Club World Cup.
However, it seems his head may have already been in Madrid long before the official announcement. In a scathing pre-match interview, Slot admitted he hasn’t been entirely pleased with Alexander-Arnold’s attitude in training in his first 12 months in Jurgen Klopp's void. He said (see full quotes below):
"I'm not entirely happy with everything I saw from training. In my opinion, in certain moments, he could do a bit more, to say it mildly, and that’s what we talked about. I told him, 'you're a much better defender than everyone makes you out to be. Unfortunately, you don't show it all the time.'
More to follow...