Contracts. Becoming quite the frustrating word on the red half of Merseyside. Liverpool have been brilliant this season and are chasing down the biggest prizes, but it’s getting toward kitchen sink time on that particular front.
Recent news, at least, has suggested that Richard Hughes, Michael Edwards and co are looking to extend Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deals, but whether FSG will be successful is another matter entirely.
Contracts contracts contracts. It’s perhaps telling that The Athletic’s confirmation that Van Dijk has been offered a new deal and an official approach for Salah is being prepared, but it’s all quiet on the Trent front.
Though transfer guru David Ornstein claims that talks are active and ongoing, it suggests that discussions are at a different stage with the Scouse-born vice-captain. You can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding, however, with Real Madrid grinning like a hungry hyena in the background.
Real Madrid looking to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold
It’s pretty frustrating that Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s biggest academy success since Steven Gerrard, is a month away from being free to talk with suitors from overseas concerning a pre-contract agreement.
If he does leave, it seems patent that there’s only one destination in the right-back’s mind: the Spanish capital. Alexander-Arnold, 26, is entering the prime of his career and offers a breadth of passing and creative influence that Liverpool simply won’t be able to replicate through Conor Bradley or a potential transfer replacement.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher said last season that “it’s like having Kevin De Bruyne playing at right-back” when discussing the England star’s ball-playing brilliance.
It would be a detrimental blow to lose an inspiring figure on a free transfer next summer. That said, Alexander-Arnold isn’t the only Anfield member to have caught Florentino Perez’s attention, and indeed, this other potential saga might be even more damaging for Arne Slot’s side.
Trent's not the only Red on Real's list
As per GIVEMESPORT, Real Madrid are keen on signing Ryan Gravenberch next year, having struggled for control and fluidity in the middle of the park this season in the wake of 34-year-old Toni Kroos’ retirement.
Anfield sources have attempted to placate the rumours by confirming Gravenberch’s devotion to the Liverpool cause, where he is happily cemented as Slot’s midfield linchpin.
While Liverpool would fetch a pretty penny through the Dutchman’s sale, it’s hard to imagine it being anything other than a disaster to the Merseysiders’ high-flying system.
Losing Ryan Gravenberch would be a bigger blow
Make no mistake, it would be a calamity to lose Alexander-Arnold at the end of the season, but the very nature of Liverpool’s contractual quandary means that there has been ample time to prepare for the wretched eventuality.
Last season, Gravenberch sat on the margins of Jurgen Klopp’s regular first-team crop, starting 13 top-flight fixtures and showing signs of promise but failing to maintain a regular berth with real conviction and quality.
How things have changed. Slot has unlocked a maturity and freedom of expression that his young compatriot has met warmly, now repaying the faith with monstrous midfield performances.
As per FBref, Gravenberch ranks among the top 3% of central midfielders in the Champions League this season for pass completion and the top 1% for interceptions per 90, highlighting his technical quality and robust athletic energy.
He’s started every single one of Liverpool’s matches in the Premier League and on the continent this term, deservedly regarded as one of the highest-performing midfielders in Europe this season, having been praised by journalist Steve Nicol for his “sensational” form.
It’s almost like he’s tailor-made for Slot’s brand of football, and it’s for that reason that losing him would be so damaging. Liverpool’s failure to convince Martin Zubimendi to join the cause this summer was met with derision from rival fanbases, who tittered at the Reds’ lack of strengthening at the beginning of a new era.
Week by week, Slot has stripped detractors of their excitement at Liverpool’s anticipated downfall, and Gravenberch has been the veritable life-juice at the centre. There’s no certainty that Zubimendi, whom FSG still harbour an interest in, would perform at the same level in a new land that he has expressed deep reservations about moving to.
Matches (starts)
14 (14)
15 (14)
Goals
0
1
Assists
1
1
Touches*
73.8
70.%
Pass completion
89%
85%
Key passes*
0.6
0.6
Dribbles completed*
0.9
0.8
Ball recoveries*
5.4
4.4
Tackles + interceptions*
3.9
3.7
Total duels (won)*
5.5 (63%)
6.0 (64%)
Given that Gravenberch is already outperforming him, such fears are only corroborated. The most exciting part is that Liverpool’s dynamic anchorman is still only 22, and thus has so much more to learn, so much more to absorb.
Alexander-Arnold is also a world-class player, more so, but Liverpool already have a top prospect coming through in Bradley and demonstrated in recent victories against Southampton and Real Madrid that they can thrive without Trent in the mix.
Truthfully, Slot’s outfit aren’t going to want either sensation to leave the fold any time soon. The Reds squad have proved that they are capable of great things, sitting seven points clear at the top of the Premier League while at the summit of the Champions League group phase too.
However, Gravenberch is starting to show that he’s made of elite-level stuff, and cannot be allowed to leave.
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