Liverpool kept up their 16-game unbeaten run with a hard-fought 3-1 victory away to Wolves. An injury-hit defence struggled under some early pressure, but it was left-back Andy Robertson who took the plaudits with a late captain’s goal.
Youngster Jarell Quansah made his full debut and put in an impressive, composed display. The Reds were missing several key players at the back, including Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The captain is expected to return in the mid-week fixture against LASK, but Trent is likely to miss out.
The 24-year-old right-back is now reportedly in contract talks as he has less than two years remaining on his current deal. 90min.com reported both Barcelona and Real Madrid could be interested in a shock move for Alexander-Arnold should issues arise during negotiations.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked experienced LFC journalist Neil Jones for his thoughts on Trent.
‘New 5 Year Deal’ – Neil Jones Backs Liverpool to Secure Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Contract Situation
Neil said:
“The vice-captaincy – you imagine – factors into the contract negotiation. That’s a sign of how much he’s rated and how important he is to the team. It’s a clear succession plan. As you know, with Virgil the age that he is.
“It will be interesting to know what sort of impact the Saudi Arabia thing has on where clubs pitch big contract renewals with key players in their prime. How do you frame it as a great deal when they know that they can earn so much money elsewhere?
“I don’t anticipate any problems with Trent and his renewal. Trent’s entire career has been built around the idea ‘I want to be Liverpool’s main man, I want to captain this club, I want to win everything.’ He’s the symbol of this Liverpool rise under Jürgen Klopp or one of them.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if within the next month or two we are talking about Trent, a new five-year contract or long-term contract.
“There’s no chance Liverpool are going to undervalue him. It would be madness if Liverpool were to leave any gaps there in terms of how much he’s appreciated, or what they’re willing to pay him.
“It does bring about a little bit of pressure of getting back into the Champions League from a Liverpool perspective for players like him. If you’re getting to two/three years out of the Champions League, it does become that issue then.
“His phone wouldn’t stop ringing if he was ever thinking about leaving Liverpool. Thankfully, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue any time soon.”
From Goalscorer To Playmaker: Has Mo Salah’s Role At Liverpool Evolved?
Redmen Reacts
After the relatively long-winded Mo Salah contract saga, hopefully, a deal to extend the vice-captain’s stay at Liverpool should be much easier to strike. Trent has been amongst the club’s best-paid players for several seasons. He will not find the prospect of massively increasing his salary whilst playing in front of crowds of less than 1000 as alluring as his former captain. His promotion to vice-captain ahead of players such as Salah and Andy Robertson shows the club’s intention to return to a locally-born skipper after Virgil van Dijk.
The LFC hierarchy will do their utmost to avoid the discontent felt by Mason Mount during his failed contract negotiations with Chelsea last season. European giants such as Manchester United and Bayern Munich have built successful teams around keeping the best talent from their academies for most, if not all of their careers. Liverpool should do exactly the same with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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