Liverpool transfers: Trent Alexander-Arnold HEAPS contract pressure on club

For someone who claims not to want to have his future plans played out in public, Trent Alexander-Arnold is doing a lot of talking to the media. 

The right-back stopped to speak to reporters following Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. He, again, reiterated the fact he didn’t want to discuss his contract situation. In doing so, though, he references his contract situation and made it a pivotal part of the conversation in the aftermath of the victory.

Read more: Trent's latest contract bombshell

“I've been at Liverpool for 20 years now. I've signed four or five contract extensions and none of them have been said in public".

"This one won't be either."

 "I have always said I want to captain the club. That is a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands," said Alexander-Arnold.

“I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say."

The 25-year-old isn’t naive. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to use the media to his advantage and he’s doing just that. The England international has implied that he wants to continue at Anfield by revealing that one of his goals is to captain the club.

But then he’s heaped all of the pressure onto the Reds by suggesting that whether he remains with his boyhood club is out of his hands.

Alexander-Arnold heaps pressure on Liverpool

He hasn’t said anything out of the ordinary here. Ultimately, the club always has the final say on what goes on with their players. But he’s essentially told the world that if he’s not a Liverpool player next season, it is the club’s decision. He’s not said it in as many words, but it is there for all to see if they look at those quotes hard enough.

Earlier in the year, we were told that Alexander-Arnold was viewed as a priority by new Sporting Director Richard Hughes. Yet we’re almost into October now and nothing seems to be close. The right-back can talk to clubs in January ahead of a free transfer in the summer. Like it or not, we’re entering uncomfortable territory.

We're entering uncomfortable territory

Obviously, contract talks aren’t always straightforward. Alexander-Arnold, who claimed his 100th goal involvement for the Reds on Saturday when he assisted Luis Diaz, is going to want to be compensated properly for his performances. Given he’s already one of the highest earners, a pay increase could see him get close to the best-paid player in the club’s history - Mohamed Salah.

It might be a risk to pay a right-back the money usually exclusively given to game-changers and match-winners in the final third, but the 31-cap England international does fall into those categories.

His assist against Bournemouth epitomises that. He picked the ball up deep, drove into space and then threaded a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Diaz. Few other full-backs have the footballing brain to consider it. Even fewer can execute it.

If you were going to break the bank for any right-back in the world, it would be Alexander-Arnold. But money might not be a driving factor in his decision-making process. In fact, he claimed it wasn’t.

Trent wants trophies

"The most important thing is always trophies. I want to win trophies. We were close to the title last season and we got a cup. The [quadruple] was on for a while I suppose.

“This season we are looking really good, it is still early days, but we need a lot of consistency. It will be difficult but we are looking to win as many trophies as we can."

For Liverpool to remain consistent and in the reckoning for trophies, they need to continue to improve the squad regularly. Alexander-Arnold isn’t going to want to commit his prime years to a team that is going to be battling for a top-four finish and nothing more.

He’s going to want to see that the club are serious. He’s going to want to see that they have the pull to bring in the best-suited players.  What happened with Moises Caicedo and Martin Zubimendi cannot become the norm.

Trent positions himself as the hero

He wants to know that there’s a chance he’ll be able to add to his trophy cabinet. If Liverpool aren’t in a position to facilitate that, he’s going to have to look elsewhere. The point is though, Alexander-Arnold has made it clear. He would like to remain at Anfield but if they can’t pay him properly or guarantee that they’ll be competitive, he’ll be forced to leave.

At a glance, his demands aren’t excessive. They’re probably the bare minimum. He’s managed to position himself early as the hero in all of this rather than the villain. That helps his legacy in the long term. The more he speaks to the media, the more pressure he heaps onto the club.