Paul Joyce DROPS Liverpool summer transfer hint

Liverpool look set to lose Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a high-profile free transfer at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old right-back has won all there is to win with his hometown club but is now due to embark on the next phase of his career at the Bernabeu.

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Liverpool fans have been left aghast at Trent ditching his boyhood club for free and it’s not easy to see one of the most potent symbols of the academy walk out the door.

But Arne Slot won’t only be losing a club icon, he will also be waving goodbye to one of his creative forces in the team.

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Although Trent has missed the last three Premier League games due to injury - and missed one more back in November against Southampton - he remains uppermost in Liverpool’s chance-creation rankings.

That could mean alarm bells ringing at Anfield as they face up to the prospect of replacing Trent’s creativity after he leaves.

Liverpool's dependency on Alexander-Arnold

The issue was brought to light by The Times’ reporter Paul Joyce in his match report following the Reds’ 2-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, which puts them within touching distance of the Premier League title.

“To see Paquetá weaving his magic prompted the question of where Liverpool’s creativity will come from, especially if Trent Alexander-Arnold joins Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer,” he wrote.

“The transfer market may have to provide the solution.”

And the figures bear out Joyce’s observations, not so much for Paqueta, who has only created four big chances all season according to Premier League data, but in terms of what Liverpool will lose when Alexander-Arnold goes.

Mohamed Salah leads Liverpool for big chances created this season, with 23, but Trent is next in line on 14. No other Reds’ player has yet reached double digits with Dominik Szoboszlai on nine and Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo on seven each.

For assists, Salah has an astonishing 18 while Trent has provided the next best total of six. Luis Diaz, meanwhile, has got five.

Where Trent ranks in PL table

So if Joyce is correct then the club could be heading into the market for a bit of creative spark. But who among the Premier League players linked with a move to Liverpool come close?

Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford, who largely plays in Salah’s position, has posted 14 big chances created this season.

Wolves schemer Matheus Cunha has got 12 while Alexander Isak and Joao Pedro have 11 each. Further down the list are Antoine Semenyo, 10, and Eberechi Eze, nine.

Away from transfer targets, you have go down to 42nd place to find a right-back - Tottenham’s Pedro Porro - on seven.

In assists, meanwhile, among reported Liverpool targets, Antonee Robinson leads the way on 10 with Eze on eight. Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has provided seven and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Isak and Joao Pedro have got six each.

For right-backs instead, Porro and Nelson Semedo have got six and five respectively and Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace has got four.

It’s clear from that array of statistics that Liverpool are going to have to face up to getting their chance-creation numbers from another station other than Trent at right-back.

Salah, signed to a new contract, will continue to do the business but for sporting director Richard Hughes it means he will need to get serious about finding attack-minded players in the market.

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And for Slot, who likes to use Conor Bradley at right-back, it could mean lessening the dependency the team still has got on Trent’s unique talents.