Trent Alexander-Arnold is Real Madrid's most rumored target in 2024. As the English defender's contract with Liverpool expires (June 2025), rumors about him joining Los Blancos appear more frequently.
There has been no news about Liverpool reopening negotiations to extend Alexander-Arnold's contract, so if this continues, The Kop will not be able to keep him after June. More importantly, they will lose one of the biggest stars in European football for free. If they fail to renew, Liverpool will definitely look to sell Alexander-Arnold this month.
Alexander-Arnold is free to negotiate with any club he wants, but whether he leaves in January or not depends entirely on Liverpool. In 2024, Real Madrid contacted Liverpool more than once about this deal but were rejected. According to The Athletic, the most difficult issue is how much this transfer fee is, Real Madrid has not yet given.
Most recently, Liverpool once again rejected Real Madrid's offer for Alexander-Arnold. The Anfield team even denied rumors that Alexander-Arnold had expressed his desire to move to the Bernabeu. According to The Athletic, although the two sides have not yet sat down to negotiate an extension, Liverpool hopes that Alexander-Arnold can continue to contribute normally to the club he has been with since childhood.
Real Madrid are desperate for Alexander-Arnold because they have been searching for a right-back since Dani Carvajal suffered an ACL injury. Even if Carvajal is not seriously injured, Los Blancos would still want Alexander-Arnold to gradually take over that position as Carvajal is 32 years old.
Another reason that could explain Liverpool's decision to reject the deal is that January is always the most intense period of the season. If Alexander-Arnold were to be sold, Liverpool would lose a very important star in their journey to conquer the titles this season. Currently, Arne Slot's army is leading the table in both the Premier League and Champions League and has only lost 1 match since the beginning of the season.
Currently, Real Madrid has refused to comment on the information that Liverpool rejected the Alexander-Arnold deal. However, the Royal team will not give up because this may just be a smokescreen by the opponent to force the price down. Real Madrid needs Alexander-Arnold but does not need to do anything or lower themselves to Liverpool in this negotiation.
Therefore, Real Madrid will continue to wait for Alexander-Arnold. They have brought to the Bernabeu many players whose contracts have expired and then become big stars, most recently the historic deal with Kylian Mbappe. The stars also do not suffer when joining Los Blancos when joining as free agents because the salary and benefits will be higher than the usual level.
