Incredible Liverpool right-back earns first team promotion amid Alexander-Arnold contract talks

Liverpool have a very talented right-back who has earned a promotion to the first team amid the uncertainty around Trent Alexander-Arnold's future.

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The Reds' no.66 is yet to pen a new deal despite his current one expiring at the end of the season. With talk of Real Madrid being hot in their pursuit, as the days pass, Alexander-Arnold's stay at Anfield is becoming less and less likely beyond the current season.

It's going to be very difficult for the Reds to replace the 26-year-old, which is why Liverpool will have to come up with alternative solutions.

Conor Bradley seems like a natural successor to the throne, having caught the eye over the last 12 months both under Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp.

But Liverpool cannot rely on Bradley alone. The Reds will need alternative solutions and it seems like one option has emerged with a recent decision made by Slot.

Isaac Mabaya earns first team recognition

Wind back a couple of years and during the pre-season of 2022, all the hype was around Mabaya among the academy stars to have made the step-up into Klopp's first team.

Tasked with providing cover for Alexander-Arnold, Mabaya was brilliant, and it seemed like he had a bright future ahead of him.

However, more than two years on what has culminated since has been a disappointing turn of events. Mabaya has suffered some serious injuries that have halted his progress.

He's only really started to make regular appearances again this season, and it's finally looking like he has turned a corner.

Still only 20-years-old, he's started three games in a row for the club's U21 side, and while the Reds have suffered defeats in those games, Mabaya stood out with his performances.

As per Wyscout, he won seven defensive duels out of his 10 attempts against West Brom's U21 side and made seven interceptions as well. Against, Palace's U21 side he won four out of six defensive duels and made six interceptions.

Meanwhile, going forward, he completed six out of six dribble attempts in the two games and made seven progressive runs.

Quick and capable of reading the game really well, Mabaya contributes a lot going forward and defensively.

His performances have now earned him recognition at first team level. Mabaya was part of the first team training session ahead of the Reds' trip to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

Subsequently, he was then called up to the travelling matchday squad, earning a well-deserved promotion following on from his performances.

Whether he gets on the pitch remains to be seen, but Mabaya is showing that there is still an exciting future ahead of him.

If he can get back to the level that he was playing at in 2022, it's entirely possible he could get a chance to prove himself again in pre-season - especially if Alexander-Arnold leaves for pastures new.

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