Liverpool transfers: Dutch replacement identified for Alexander-Arnold
It seems that the Trent Alexander-Arnold contract saga will never end at Liverpool.
As the season canters onward, more and more details of the negotiations between Trent and the club (alongside Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, whose contracts also expire at the end of the season) continue to emerge.
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For a while now, Real Madrid have sat in the driver’s seat to secure the right-back’s signature if he does decide to leave his boyhood club. Recently, however, links to German giants Bayern Munich have emerged.
Spanish outlet
TodoFichajes
are reporting that Trent has now been “clear that he wants to leave Anfield next summer”, with everything being prepared from Madrid’s end for his arrival. The recent injury to Madrid’s starting right-back Dani Carvajal has thrown a spanner in the works here, but Madrid are not expected to attempt to bring Trent in this coming January transfer window.The same report indicates that, should Trent leave, Liverpool have identified Inter Milan and Netherlands man Denzel Dumfries as the one to replace the Scouser.
Who could replace Trent?
Dumfries is an interesting proposition for Liverpool. At 28-years old he bucks Liverpool’s trend of mainly signing players aged 25 and younger, but with also being in the last year of his contract he would give the side an immediate cheap option whilst they look for a younger, longer-term option at the position.
He still plays a heavy dose of minutes in Milan but does share the position with former Manchester United man Matteo Darmian. With Inter operating a 3-5-2 system primarily, it gives Dumfries heavy impetus to attack.
As anticipated, however, any Trent replacement won’t really be able to fill the gap that Trent holds in the team; the system would have to change.
Whilst producing a similar amount of progressive carries per 90 this season (Dumfries’s 2.78 to Trent’s 2.92), his progressive passes falter at 1.67 to Trent’s 6.31. He does occupy a higher position than Trent though, receiving passes at a rate of 5 per-90 to Trent’s 3.85.
He falls short of Trent in shot creating actions (2.22 to Trent’s 3.38 per-90), and wins tackles at a much lower rate than Trent does: 50% tackle rate compared to Trent’s 61.6%.
As a result, bringing Dumfries into the team would see him play closer to Salah on the right and attempt to hit the byline more. Should Salah leave too, Liverpool are staring at an entirely new right-hand side.
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