Trent Alexander-Arnold, you were warned: Real Madrid move ALREADY looks toxic

Trent Alexander-Arnold is all but set for Real Madrid. It's a move that will already set off alarm bells, however.

All signs point to Trent Alexander-Arnold joining Real Madrid. The right-back has been running his contract down this season and it appears it wasn't simply to score a larger contract at Liverpool.

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Instead, as rumoured, he'll jump ship to Real Madrid. Los Blancos did actually try to sign the player ahead of January - a sign that they've long been confident of a 'yes' from the player.

And they'll almost certainly get that yes shortly. Alexander-Arnold has received a formal contract offer from Real Madrid and all parties expect that he'll sign it.

You can probably start the countdown clock, then. The Scouser was long thought to be a lifer with Liverpool, talking publicly about his lack of desire to play for anyone else and dreams of captaining the club.

In fact, there can be little doubt that he's in line to take over from Virgil van Dijk as Liverpool captain when the Dutchman leaves. That could even be this summer.

But Alexander-Arnold won't stick around for that captaincy. He wants to play for Real Madrid with the rest of them and is in line for a move on his terms this summer.

Is it one that will work out, though? The early signs suggest not.

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The Real Madrid experience

The press in Spain, particularly with Real Madrid, don't give players an easy ride. A lot of the time it's not even fair.

We've seen truckloads of elite footballers ran out of Madrid over the decades, deemed unworthy before going elsewhere and proving themselves to be world-class. Arjen Robben, Mesut Ozil, Gonzalo Higuain, Fabinho - all players who weren't 'good enough' for the club but then went on to be among the world's best in their position.

Even someone like Luka Modric, one of Real Madrid's greatest players, was labelled a flop in his first season and the worst transfer of the campaign. He's the exception - someone who managed to actually change the perception of him.

Once the press in Spain gets that perception, after all, it's remarkably difficult to shake it. The club doesn't offer any protection, either, as they're always happy to move onto the next shiny thing.

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And so the worry with Alexander-Arnold has always been that he's be exposed in Madrid. Liverpool have always backed him, as have the fans.

That won't necessarily be the case at his preferred destination. In fact, he's already seeing that.

AS have put out a piece that explains Real Madrid's intention to sign Alexander-Arnold ahead of the Club World Cup. However, they also mention that he probably wouldn't start for the club.

Dani Carvajal would retain his place once back from injury, given Alexander-Arnold's questionable defending. It's already begun.

Alexander-Arnold will be used to his defensive questions. Only, that never actually affected what Liverpool think of him - that will not be the case in Madrid. We all know that's not the case as we've seen a plethora of players face similar situations before.

We talks into Madrid with this pre-conceived notion that he can't defend. To the point where analysis suggests he probably isn't good enough to start for them just yet.

He will struggle to shake that off, let alone if he does actually struggle defensively at all. Real Madrid can get toxic for players in a flash.

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Alexander-Arnold is already seeing that and he hasn't even signed for them.