SWAPPED DEAL FODEN TO LIVERPOOL, ALEXANDER-ARNOLD TO MANCHESTER CITY DEAL OR NO DEAL? According to reports, Manchester City have ‘opened talks’ to sign Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold in a swapped deal with PhilFoden…

Indeed, the 26-year-old Reds vice-captain is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club of his choosing from January 1 – just 25 days from now.

The chase for Alexander-Arnold has long been headed by Real Madrid, who have made no secret of their desire to land the 33-times capped England man on a free next summer and have been in what has been described to our sources as ‘constant contact’ with his representatives.

However, a staggering new report from Caught Offside claims Manchester City have now incredibly thrown their hat into the ring for his signature – and have already held talks with the player’s entourage over a hugely controversial transfer across the Premier League.

While time is ticking along quickly on Alexander-Arnold’s deal, sources have told us that the Reds remain ‘calm and relaxed’ over the player’s future, and with the player’s priority always been on extending his stay at Anfield.

However, while an agreement is yet to be reached, it’s easy to see why speculation over his future continues to linger.

To that end, it’s understood that Real Madrid, while ruling out a January proposal to sign him, do remain in the hunt for a free-transfer capture and they are rightly considered, at this stage, as the single strongest threat to their prospects of keeping the 26-year-old on Merseyside