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Liverpool are looking ahead to the summer transfer window after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit was finally confirmed ahead of a pending free transfer to Real Madrid
There was only one story in town at the start of the week as Trent Alexander-Arnold confirmed his impending exit from Liverpool. The right-back finally announced his decision on Monday morning, leaving him with three more matches in a red shirt before he heads off to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
The move has been a long time coming, with Real’s interest being reported all season. But the eventual announcement and his explanation have not gone down well with many fans, who are angry that a supporter of the club has decided to turn his back on them after 20 years.
The 26-year-old emphasised how difficult the decision was for him to make, said he would remain a fan of the team and come back to support them whenever he can. But the emotion will remain raw for the time being, despite his years of service and many great moments.
The announcement does bring to an end all the speculation however. With the title secure, Liverpool can plan for the 2025/26 season, when they will have Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, but not Alexander-Arnold. Here are the latest pieces of transfer news involving the club.
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Real’s offer to Trent
Liverpool tried to keep Alexander-Arnold and new sporting director Richard Hughes even made it a priority following his arrival in the role. But while he did manage to keep Salah and Van Dijk, he could not complete the set by tempting Alexander-Arnold to stay put.
The Reds did put a contract on the table for the England international that would have made him one of the highest paid full-backs in the world, but they quickly gathered from his representatives that it wasn’t money that drove his decision. Alexander-Arnold is happy on Merseyside, yet wants to move to Spain to challenge himself.
He is set to sign a six-year deal with Los Blancos and will join up with his friend Jude Bellingham in Madrid. As he explained: «It just boiled down to what I felt I needed, and that is a change. That’s something I need to do on my personal journey as a person, but also as a player and a professional, to go and challenge myself elsewhere. I feel like a challenge in a different environment is something I need to do as a player.»
Frimpong ‘chose’ Liverpool
One of the players Liverpool have been linked with as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold is Jeremie Frimpong. The Bayer Leverkusen star has four goals and 12 assists in 47 games this season and has caught the eye of scouts.
The 24-year-old has played for Leverkusen for the past four years, but started out in the Manchester City academy. However, explaining his journey as a youngster, he said he would have preferred to join Liverpool instead.
“One time with AFC Clayton, we had a final. I scored a hat-trick and won player of the tournament,» he told Rising Ballers. «There were scouts from Liverpool, Man City, Bolton and lots more. I chose Liverpool first. I was going to sign for them but back then, driving wasn’t a thing. My family wasn’t driving and it was far. Man City was local so I tried Man City next. It made more sense. It was 15 minutes on the bus.”
Keane’s shopping list
Roy Keane believes Liverpool need to buy at least three players in the summer transfer window if they are to defend their Premier League title. Slot’s side were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea on Sunday as he rotated the team and their lack of strength in depth was obvious.
Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott were among the changes and Keane believes the game showed the areas that Liverpool need to focus on this summer.
“They want to back that up,” Keane said on Sky Sports when asked about summer signings. “That’s the big challenge for Liverpool. Possibly a left-back, a centre half, [and] potentially I would say striker. They’ve won the league, they’ll be a big attraction for a lot of players. Winning the league’s fantastic, you’ve got to back it up again next year.”
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