Martim Fernandes: The PERFECT Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement

For a while now, the focus has been on who Liverpool might sign at right-back if Trent Alexander-Arnold does depart to join Real Madrid.

There’s no standout candidate, is there?

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But, until today, we haven’t exactly had to properly think about it. Everything appears to have accelerated though with the likes of David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano now suggesting a deal is close.

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So, we now have to address the elephant in the room. How do you replace Alexander-Arnold? He’s a creative force of nature and his defending wasn’t ever as bad as some would have you believe.

He’s that good, you almost need multiple players to be signed to fill the void he’s going to leave in the summer.

There are pros and cons with a few of the rumoured targets.

Givairo Read is seemingly liked by the club, as well as Arne Slot. Rumoured to be a Liverpool fan, the young Dutch full-back is also on Barcelona’s radar. Am I a fan of his? Yes. According to SciSports, he has a 99% similarity rating to Alexander-Arnold.

The Jeremie Frimpong links just won’t go away either. He’d count as homegrown, a big bonus right now, but I’m just not convinced he can play as a right-back. Well, he can, I’m just not sure he can do a job defensively there. He’s caught the eye for Bayer Leverkusen as a wing-back and there are no guarantees he can post the numbers he has been for the reigning Bundesliga champions while playing as a full-back.

Defensively, there are question marks. This move is a gamble, all things considered. According to reports, he would cost £35million and we don’t even know what his level might be at right-back in the Premier League.

It seems expensive, doesn’t it?

In an ideal world, you’d just back Conor Bradley but injuries mean he’s unreliable. There’s no other way to dress that up. Muscle injuries are plaguing him and it makes it impossible to build around him as a starter. Right now, he’s a squad player, at best. And it must be frustrating because on talent alone, he could be a starter.

I’ve been looking at right-back options for a while now, trying to theorise what we might do. Maybe we bring in a midfielder and use them at right-back. Maybe we bring in an athletic centre-back to play the role and balance it by signing a Milos Kerkez profile for left-back. Maybe we move away from a playmaker at right-back. Maybe we bring in someone with experience. Lots of maybes.

Do you rip up everything and start again, in a summer that already looks set to be filled with change? Do you bring in an experienced right-back and look to alter how they play in a bid to turn them into an Alexander-Arnold lite? Do you bring in a kid with physical capabilities but who is lacking technically in the hope you can add that side to their game?

There’s a lot you could do in this scenario.

The case for Martim Fernandes

You could just go with more of the same though. Find someone who has a bit of Alexander-Arnold about them. Another player with a 99% similarity rating to the Liverpool full-back is Martim Fernandes.

I spoke to Zeca (@sorryilmleitee on X), a Porto expert, about the 19-year-old right-back.

One of the first things he said was: “He’s a traditional full-back but his long ball passing is amazing. If Trent ends up going to Real Madrid, I think he is a solid candidate.”

Why is a 19-year-old with 1,125 minutes this season the player to replace the most creative right-back in history?

Because, well, he’s great.

Obviously, he’s still really, really raw, as most players are at that age, and we’d need to have patience as he develops. But he’s come into this Porto side and you wouldn’t know he’s a kid. He’s a smart footballer and an athlete.

The Portugal Under-21 international is touching 6ft. Watching him play, you wouldn’t know he’s a full-back. He’s dynamic, press-resistant, and he has explosive pace over short and long distances. He can pick a pass and carry the ball.

He ticks so many boxes. So many, in fact, I’m prepared to overlook the limited sample size and our questionable history when it comes to signing players from Portugal.

I think he’s the real deal.

For Porto this season, his numbers are impressive, even at a glance.

He's racked up five assists in the Portuguese top-flight and has an Expected Assists per 90 of 0.31 - for context, Alexander-Arnold’s average this term is 0.28.

Sam McGuire: Liverpool can only replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in the AGGREGATE

On average, he's creating 1.76 chances per 90, has a 60% success dribble rate and he's had over 70 touches per 90 with a pass success rate of 81%. Even as a snapshot, you can see he's doing everything you want an Alexander-Arnold replacement to be doing.

Martim is seeing a lot of the ball, he's creative with it, and progressive. He ranks second across players under-21 in Europe's top seven leagues for key passes per 90. The only player ahead of him is Desire Doue. According to WyScout, he's the seventh best player under the age of 20 in the world this season.

What makes the Porto No52 such an intriguing prospect, at least in my opinion, is how varied he is. He can overlap and underlap, for starters.

The ball is played out wide to the Porto right and Martim puts on the afterburners to blitz through the middle third and into the attacking third. Players have a head start on him but simply cannot keep pace.

He plays a pass across the face of goal and it takes two defenders to clear the danger. Martim keeps his head. He remains calm and composed. It's a bonus given his age. Some get above their station and try something fancy. Others lose their head and fizz a cross into the box which missed everyone.

Liverpool need runners from deep, especially if Mo Salah is staying, and Martim can carve out space for the legendary forward.

His weight of pass, for someone of his age, is unbelievable.

Here, he's positioned wide right. He takes a touch to get the ball out of his feet before putting in a cross. He hits the zone highlighted. The ball can't be turned goalwards but the pass into the area is exceptional. It is Alexander-Arnold-esque.

Again, he's wide right, showing he can operate more as a traditional full-back when required.

His touch to bring the ball down and get it out of his feet is stupidly good.

He then sets himself and plays a ball across the face of goal into the area highlighted at the back post for the No9 to attack. He's able to tap the ball in, with his left foot, into what is basically an unguarded goal after the keeper was taken out by the Martim cross.

The No52 has a variety of passes in his arsenal. Even game-breaker ones. The sort that few see and even fewer are able to execute.

To round this piece off, a look at his ability when pressured. Here he is receiving the ball on the touchline. There's acres of space centrally but he's being pressed by the opposition who have implemented a high press.

He escapes, showing great composure under pressure. He drifts centrally before driving forward into the space.

He then threads a pass in behind the opposition's defence for the striker to run on to. The move ends in a corner for Porto.

His defensive numbers don't look amazing in isolation but defensive numbers are often tied to volume and if he's playing for a dominant Porto side, he won't be that busy. He does win a higher percentage of duels than Alexander-Arnold though, both on the ground and in the air. He looks perfectly capable physically and has a profile that seems suited to the Premier League, so we'd have to see how he'd adapt.

But he has the tools needed to be a top-class right-back for a top-class team, like Liverpool. My only fear is Real Madrid come calling when they want an upgrade on Alexander-Arnold.