Inside Real Madrid's pursuit of Trent Alexander-Arnold

It is always chanted with a fair dose of passion but, at Southampton’s St Mary’s earlier this month, the travelling Kop notched the volume up even further.

‘Alexander-Arnold, the Scouser in our team,’ goes the song. On this particular sodden night by the south coast, the away fans were given a glimpse — they hope — into the future.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was skippering the side with Virgil van Dijk resting at home and had an added sense of leadership on the pitch. He registered a spell-binding assist which prompted the chant, and then shepherded his team-mates over to the away end at full-time.

Reds fans will be keeping fingers, toes and everything else crossed that this scene is one they will see for many years to come. As the natural heir to inherit the captain’s armband, supporters will yearn to see the 26-year-old leading them out for many years to come.

To put it simply, he is adored by the red half of Merseyside. The fact he is an elite footballer helps his case – but more so, it is because this local lad is living out the dreams each and every fan had as young boys or girls. He is the fan on the pitch, the Scouse heartbeat of the team.

But – and it is a ‘but’ which carries a significant weight – Alexander-Arnold is out of contract in the summer, with no resolution yet, and Real Madrid are circling.

In less than 24 hours, when most of the nation is fighting off New Year’s Day hangovers, Liverpool will also be handed an almighty headache as, on January 1, Alexander-Arnold is free to sign a deal to join any foreign club in the summer – as are Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk.

And this is where the full back’s short and mid-term future gets interesting and perhaps complex: the Real Madrid conundrum. 

The Spanish giants have now made an audacious move to sign Alexander-Arnold in January, less than six months before he would be available for free. Their approach has been rebuffed by the Reds, but the saga is far from over.

Mail Sport has spoken to sources from Merseyside to Madrid – plus a man who has made the jump in the past – to try to gain access inside the mind of Alexander-Arnold.

The first thing to say is that reports suggesting Alexander-Arnold is eager to be in the top-earning bracket of Salah and Van Dijk are understood to be wide of the mark. He knows his place in the pecking order and this decision will certainly not be driven by finances.

So the dilemma Alexander-Arnold faces is whether to go with his head or heart. He has won every major prize at Liverpool – the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, multiple times for the latter… and who knows how many more to follow this season.

Alexander-Arnold was born in West Derby, in the suburbs of Liverpool and is playing for the club of his heart. He has a close affinity to the city and went to St Mary’s College, whose other famous alumni includes former MPs, the first owner of the Cavern Club and TV personalities.

Noting one of Liverpool’s mottos, ‘this means more’, donning the captain’s armband for this club is seen as an ultimate honour. For a Scouser, as one source explains, ‘captaining the club is the pinnacle for a local lad’.

On the other hand, though, Alexander-Arnold has been there, done that and bought the T-shirt several times over in terms of accolades at Anfield. And Real Madrid, the 15-time champions of Europe, are hard to turn down.

Alexander-Arnold’s good mate Jude Bellingham probably put it better than most could when the Englishman said recently: ‘When Real Madrid knocks on the door, it shakes the whole house. It is hard not to open it and to accept it.’

Real Madrid have now metaphorically knocked on the door of Alexander-Arnold’s house but have been turned away by Liverpool. It would be foolish to think they won't return.

The road from Liverpool to Los Blancos has been walked before. Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, now both coaches, are the modern examples but the most high-profile were Steve McManaman and Michael Owen, who lasted just one year at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

‘He's done everything at Liverpool, he has won every trophy,’ Owen tells Mail Sport when quizzed on what he would do if he was Alexander-Arnold. ‘He can continue in that vein and just have the most wonderful career at one club, for ever be loved by that one club and all that comes with it, earn a good living and have great fun and be with his mates.

‘In the club that you've always been at, there are so many positives to be taken from that. I'm a living example and people I played with, the likes of Jamie Carragher did exactly that. He will reap all the benefits that come with that.

‘I had the opportunity to do what Trent's possibly considering (leaving for Madrid). I chose that because I thought that'd be an amazing experience. I wanted to give it a go.

‘You lose a little bit of control after that, you're almost in a trading commodity, you're out there and if you're doing well or not doing well, then you're not that attached and ingrained to a club like you used to be.

‘But then again, the positives of going to Real Madrid are there for all to see. Life experience… We only live once. Living in a different country, learning a language, having a different climate, different food, all these things are quite incredible. Playing with one of the biggest teams in the world, or probably the biggest team in the world could be quite tempting.

‘If you want to have a look at the pros and cons... Carragher is loved more than me at Liverpool because of his loyalty, but I probably had experiences, met more people and had more of a life experience that he didn't have.

‘It just depends on what floats your boat. He's certainly got to be happy and content with the way the team is and the trophies that he can win at Liverpool. But does he want a lifestyle change?’

Two decades on from that move, it is fair to say Owen is still sitting somewhat on the fence about whether he made the right move. He acknowledges the life experiences he got from it but also knows he could have become an all-time Liverpool legend had he stayed.

Owen is a good case study but the club was in a different place when he and McManaman left. As a Spaniard with ambitions of winning a place in the national team, Alonso was also a unique case.

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BREAKING NEWS
Real Madrid make offer to Liverpool to sign Trent in JANUARY... but Reds reject approach

Now, Liverpool are the runaway Premier League leaders and, based on form across Europe, would have to be a leading contender to win the Champions League too. They are in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and are heavy favourites to get past Tottenham — based on their recent 6-3 thrashing at least — and are yet to begin their FA Cup campaign.

While the noise outside from fans complaining about the lack of progress in contract talks has been loud, the word from inside the building has always been calm. In this particular deal, both parties are said to have been realistic in their demands.

Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold are keen for this contract saga to not be played out in public. Both player and his manager, Arne Slot, have straight-batted questions about it every week of this season.

The ultimate New Year's present for Reds fans would be for the three out-of-contract stars to sign on the dotted line for new deals. Team-mates feel the same, with Diogo Jota joking recently that his festive gift to Alexander-Arnold would be ‘a pen so he could sign his contract’.

There is a sense in some corners of the fanbase that the best thing to do is just enjoy the football of Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk this season – and whatever happens next will happen. Que sera, sera and all that.

In Alexander-Arnold’s case, this is a generational footballer who can continue to be the Scouse heartbeat of this team for many years.

It all just rests on whether he decides to go with his head or his heart – and if he can resist Real Madrid ‘shaking the whole house’ if they come knocking again.

Michael Owen was talking to Mail Sport in association with Ace Odds … www.aceodds.com/