Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid DERAILED after shocking transfer development

Liverpool face a contract crisis over three of their most important players.

Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract at the end of the season with no breakthrough as yet in talks over new deals.

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Despite being described as a “priority” for Reds’ sporting director Richard Hughes, the club are still waiting for an agreement with any of their three expiring stars, who have been entitled to speak to overseas clubs since January 1.

Salah and Van Dijk are under pressure from Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia and Real Madrid’s interest in Trent Alexander-Arnold is no secret.

The Spanish record champions made attempts to talk to Liverpool about a January transfer ahead of the window opening but those efforts were rebuffed.

Now Liverpool face the prospect of Trent signing a pre-contract agreement with Real over a free transfer in summer 2025.

However, if the latest reports out of Germany are to be believed, Alexander-Arnold to Real might not yet be a slam dunk.

Real open talks with Trent alternative

The right-back was reported to be the only player in the mix for Carlo Ancelotti’s side but now links have emerged between Real and Joshua Kimmich.

The Germany captain - also a confirmed target for Liverpool - is out of contract with Bayern Munich in summer and no agreement has yet been reached with his current employers over an extension.

Christian Falk of Bild now reports that talks have commenced between the 29-year-old and Madrid over a potential summer deal.

"Joshua Kimmich (29) is in contact with Real Madrid about his future,” he wrote on X. “Real is the club that would appeal to him most in the event of a transfer. FC Bayern is still is the first negotiating partner, further talks will take place.”

This is an intriguing development for several reasons.

For one it might suggest that Real are prepared to move on from Trent if they are unable to secure his signature under favourable conditions. That of course would be a huge boost to Liverpool fans, who desperately want to see the 26-year-old stay with his boyhood club.

It could also mean that Madrid see Kimmich as a midfielder - rather than a right-back - and may opt to use him as a holding player, which they have been lacking this term.

That would mean adding Trent AND Kimmich to the squad next summer - which would be two very expensive operations.

The last thing Liverpool want is to lose Trent and a potential world-class replacement in Kimmich, if he ends up going to the Bernabeu too.

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