Arne Slott has insisted Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be swayed or distracted by Real Madrid's interest in the Liverpool defender.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season, along with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, and Liverpool are yet to secure a long-term future despite ongoing negotiations. All three players will be able to talk to overseas clubs about free transfers from January 1st.
Madrid were linked with the Liverpool right-back, a close friend of Jude Bellingham, even before they lost Dani Carvajal for the rest of the season to a serious knee injury. Spanish sports daily Marca, which has close ties to the European champions, reported this week: Published a front page headline Liverpool insisted: “He knows it.” [Alexander-Arnold] Not updated. 'Liverpool deny that is the case, and Slott believes any attempt to destabilize the 26-year-old is doomed to fail.
“I think you underestimate our players,” said Liverpool's head coach. “These players are used to being linked with all the top clubs on a daily basis, contracted or not. This is part of our job. This is part of the world we live in. You have to focus on what you need to do. Just do it.
“Maybe if you're 17 or 18, it's difficult. But Trent won the league and won the Champions League. Same with Virgil and Mo. I think that's fine for them to play. I think so, and they're playing really well, so that's how I see it at the moment.”
Slott's title is Liverpool head coach, and although he is not Liverpool manager like his predecessor, he retains influence over the club's player contracts. he said: No athletic director in the world would sign or extend a player they didn't want, even if they had no legal opinion. You talk about these things all the time. The great thing about being a head coach is that whenever something like this happens, you can always say, “Go to the athletic director! ” ”
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Slott said he could not set a timetable for Alisson's return from injury amid concerns the influential goalkeeper could be sidelined beyond next month. The Brazil international is expected to miss six weeks with a serious hamstring problem, but when asked if Alisson would be out until Christmas, Slott said: “We expect him to be back by Christmas, but that's not true.'' I don't know.'' It's always difficult to know what the injury will be in the first stages, so we'll be able to better answer that question within a few weeks. ”
