Has Richard Hughes' January gamble already backfired?

Ever since Trent Alexander-Arnold became linked with a move to Real Madrid, fans have been concerned about how Liverpool might cope without him.

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Across the last seven seasons, the right-back phenomenon has lit up the Premier League with his attacking intent and world-class passing ability.

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What he brings to this Liverpool side has never been in question. Under Jurgen Klopp's management, he became a linchpin in the team. But under Arne Slot, while he is still a player you would rather have than not, his influence has been diminished slightly as the team has pivoted to different ways of creating chances.

Now that he is less relied upon, it seems logical to suggest that his fresh injury scare might not be as catastrophic to the team's title race as you might have considered it to be.

Conor Bradley will come in as his understudy and Liverpool will see how he delivers in the high-pressure environment.

But Liverpool will want Trent back as soon as possible, and given his ability to deliver moments of brilliance when the Reds need him most, it will be a test case to see how much his absence is felt over the next few games.

Liverpool have no Trent and no money

Real Madrid made a bid for Alexander-Arnold in January worth around £10million - a small sum but understandable, given he is set to be available for free in the summer.

When the club received the offer, it was rejected straight away and Slot made clear that the right-back was not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon as the player was 'fully committed'.

At the time, we all laughed off the notion of selling him. Liverpool are in a title race and his services will be crucial to the Reds delivering silverware this season.

But now a few weeks on from the bid, the club finds itself with Trent unavailable to be played, and without any money to help ease his absence.

In Saturday's 2-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League, the right-back was substituted with a muscle strain, although it is not considered to be a hamstring pull or tear.

According to the highly reliable Physio Scout on X, he might just miss this week's fixture against Tottenham in the second leg of the EFL Cup, or he could be sidelined for a few weeks.

Could Liverpool's title charge be derailed without Trent?

Against Bournemouth, Trent noticeably struggled in his battles with Antoine Semenyo and his performance levels have been up and down in recent weeks.

In Bradley, the Reds have an excellent player who can come in to replace him. Defensively, the Northern Irishman is a more complete player and his attacking threat isn't too bad either.

As mentioned earlier, Slot likes to utilise his full-backs in a different way to Klopp.

They still push high, but the football is more controlled than rock and roll. Trent's influence on a game is more likely to be through delivering long balls from a deeper position on the pitch.

Nonetheless, he still sits ninth in the expected assists table for the Premier League - per Statsmuse - and he is the only defender to feature in the top 25 in that metric. He still creates chances for Liverpool and not having an asset like Trent in your arsenal is a blow.

But if he is destined to move on from Liverpool in the summer on a free transfer, should his contract talks with the club collapse, then Liverpool will need to survive without him and Bradley will be first in line to replace him before the club looks to the transfer market for assistance.

Having to rely on Bradley every so often this season is only going to be beneficial in the long run and when the youngster came up against Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League there was only one winner.

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