Three of Liverpool’s biggest stars are, at this stage, in line to leave the club in the summer. The Reds could lose Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold on free transfers, with their contracts set to expire at the end of the season.
Former Liverpool striker, Michael Owen, stated on talkSPORT a few days ago that he is “pretty sure” Salah wants to stay at Anfield, saying he “would do whatever it takes to keep him” at Anfield beyond this season. Quite.
As for Van Dijk, he explained in mid-March that he currently has “no idea at the moment” wheter he will stay at Anfield or not. However, one player who does seem destined to leave is Alexander-Arnold.
The latest news on Alexander-Arnold's future
If the reports that are breaking in the last 24 hours or so are to be believed, it does not seem like Alexander-Arnold does not have many months left as a Liverpool player. All signs point to a departure from his boyhood club.
One of the people reporting that the right-back could be on his way out of Anfield is the highly reputable David Ornstein. He reports that Real Madrid are ‘working to close’ the signing of the England international.
Ornstein goes on to explain that Los Blancos, one of the biggest clubs in world football, have been interested in signing him for two years, revealing they have been ‘doing everything’ they can since January to convince him to switch Merseyside for Madrid.
The boyhood Liverpool fan has currently played 349 games for the club, scoring 22 goals and grabbing an impressive 87 assists. His contributions to winning the club’s first Premier League and the Champions League in 2018/19 were vital.
If the right-back is to depart the club, it would mean the club need to replace him in the long-term. Rather than dipping into the transfer market, perhaps the answer lies in-house.
The in-house Alexander-Arnold replacement
There are actually a few options at Arne Slot’s disposal if he were to look for an in-house replacement for Alexander-Arnold. Namely, they are academy graduates Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley.
However, the pair are rather inexperienced, and whilst Bradley might be the first choice a few years down the line, perhaps he is best suited to a more rotational role as he gains experience. Instead, Slot could use Joe Gomez as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold.
Once described as a “phenomenal” player by Statman Dave, the England international has featured 17 times under the new Liverpool boss this term but has been sidelined for some time now with a hamstring injury.
Gomez, who was born in London, is no stranger to playing at right-back. In an impressive 241 appearances for the Reds so far, he has played on the ride side of the backline 88 times. Naturally, he is a centre-back, but the defender is certainly comfortable at full-back, too.
If there is one issue with Gomez slotting in at right-back, it is his attacking output. He has famously never scored a goal in professional football and only has nine assists for Liverpool, five of which have come from the right side. Over the years, he has proven he is capable of producing moments of magic, however, like this assist for Diogo Jota in 2022 against Watford.
Gomez’s true strength lies in his defending, meaning he’d be certain upgrade on Alexander-Arnold in that regard.
Indeed, the England international has some impressive numbers via FBref when compared to other full-backs, including 6.64 ball recoveries and a 73.9% aerial duel win rate per game. Both of those metrics rank him in the top 1% of full-backs in Europe.
Blocks
1.89
81st
Clearances
3.16
77th
Tackles & interceptions
3.24
65th
Ball recoveries
6.64
99th
Aerial duel win rate
73.9%
99th
Liverpool could certainly do a lot worse than the former Charlton youth product at right-back. Whilst the attacking side of his game is definitely not as good as his defensive ability, he has proven he can create goals, and defensively, he is very impressive.
As far as an in-house Alexander-Arnold replacement goes, Gomez could be the answer Slot is looking for, at least until Bradley is ready to start week in, week out.
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