Paddy Pimblett on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s potential move to Real Madrid Menu

Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold appears to be ‘closing in’ on a move to Real Madrid, with reports suggesting that the England international is set to sign a pre-contract with the Spanish giants ahead of next season – and Gary Lineker has backed the right-back’s potential decision to leave by stating that a move to the Bernabeu would be ‘very difficult to turn down’.

Lineker himself played in La Liga back in the 1980’s, turning out for Barcelona for a number of years after spells at Everton, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur – and as just a handful of Englishmen to make the move over to Spain to play their club football, the striker knows better than most as to why a move to the Santiago Bernabeu could be beneficial for Alexander-Arnold.

Lineker: Real Madrid Move ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ for Alexander-Arnold

The Liverpool star looks set to move to the Spanish giants

Trent Alexander-Arnold-1

With the Anfield star set to join Steve McManaman and Michael Owen as local Reds to feature for Los Blancos, it’s left an acrid taste in the mouth of the loyal supporters – but Lineker believes that it’s the right move for him, with fans focusing on the positives of a player’s skillset as opposed to the negatives.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Premier League statistics – Liverpool squad ranking

Stats

Output

Squad rank

Appearances

28

=4th

Assists

6

2nd

Key Passes Per Game

1.8

2nd

Shots Per Game

1.4

6th

Tackles Per Game

2.4

2nd

Match rating

7.15

3rd

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker hailed Alexander-Arnold as ‘one of the best passers in world football’ before stating that it would be an ‘absolutely fabulous move’ for the Melwood graduate. He said:

“It looks like it might happen, but we’re not sure yet. There’s obviously been an approach, and he’s had a bit of stick from Liverpool fans and stuff. And I don’t mind saying that I think it would be an absolutely fabulous move for him.

“I think to play for Real Madrid is something that is very difficult to turn down. He’s been at Liverpool since he was a kid – it transcends him into kind of another level.

“When you’re playing for a club like that, I think it’ll be absolutely brilliant for him. He’s their sort of player, because they like to see beautiful football and attacking football. He’s one of the passers of the the ball in the world game.

“We tend to focus in this country a little bit on the negative, or the kind of weakness in a player’s game – whereas over there, from my experience, they generally just focus on what you’re good at, so I think that will probably go away.”

Alexander-Arnold Will be Sorely Felt by Liverpool
The right-back has been a key part of the furniture for a decade
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Alexander-Arnold has made almost 400 appearances for Liverpool since making his debut back in 2016, assisting 89 goals in that time and becoming the record-assisting defender in Premier League history, over teammate Andy Robertson.

He’ll be a sorry miss if he does join Real Madrid on a free transfer, especially given the fact that, with a lengthy contract, he’d be one of the most valuable defenders in world football.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Trent Alexander-Arnold has 33 caps for England, scoring four goals.

Conor Bradley will be immediate candidate to take over Alexander-Arnold’s contract, but the club may look to sign a second right-back for Arne Slot – especially if Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah also leave on free transfers with their contracts also set to run out at the end of June as it stands.