Liverpool fans given ‘hope’ after Trent Alexander-Arnold bombshell

A Trent Alexander-Arnold bombshell dropped on Tuesday but Liverpool fans have been given 'hope' on the back of it.

Fabrizio Romano is among those reporting that Trent Alexander-Arnold is on the brink of a move to Real Madrid. This has been rumoured for a little over a year now and things appear to be finally moving forward.

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Alexander-Arnold's contract expires at the end of the season and he's now expected to move to Real Madrid. They've readied a formal offer for the player that will apparently be accepted.

That's certainly what Real Madrid believe is going to happen, anyway. They've pushed hard to sign Alexander-Arnold, including an offer for a move in January that Liverpool rejected.

But that didn't stop them. Real Madrid have been free to negotiate with the player since January 1st over a pre-contract with them - the only 'rule' is that they must notify Liverpool when it's signed.

That is yet to happen, though it now feels like it's only a matter of time.

Doom and gloom for Liverpool, then, as they're set to lose one of their prize assets. Even that's underselling it - Alexander-Arnold is the star academy graduate and someone who everyone expected to captain the club after Virgil van Dijk.

Instead, he'll be off in Madrid with the rest of them. Still, there is good reason for hope at Liverpool.

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Liverpool's reason for hope

Paul Joyce writes in The Times that there 'has been a sense of resignation' over Alexander-Arnold for some time. Liverpool fans haven't really believed he was going to stay.

However, Joyce claims there is 'more hope' over Van Dijk and Mo Salah signing new contracts. They're also set to leave as things stand but the pair are more willing to negotiate with the Reds.

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In fact, it's always felt as though the pair of them were eager to remain at Liverpool while Alexander-Arnold was eager to leave. The latter hasn't addressed his contract in public for a very long time now, while both Van Dijk and Salah have been happy to do so when asked.

That's probably the biggest sign of all. Alexander-Arnold felt no need to put pressure on Liverpool in the media as he didn't want an offer. Similarly, he hasn't wanted to broach the subject publicly as it's not a positive one.

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We'll hang onto the hope, then, that Van Dijk and Salah may stay a little longer. It's unquestionably what the fans want - let's see if they're more willing than Alexander-Arnold was.