Arne Slot has addressed pressing questions regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s future, as the prospect of a move to Real Madrid looms larger.
Alexander-Arnold’s contract expires at the end of the season, allowing him to negotiate with clubs in January about a potential pre-contract agreement.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported on Thursday that Madrid is intensifying their pursuit of the right-back, raising concerns at Liverpool about the possibility of his departure.
Marca also suggests that Madrid believe Liverpool might be open to selling Alexander-Arnold in January to salvage a transfer fee.
In Friday’s press conference, Slot maintained a cautious stance, keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the situation.
The 46-year-old said: “What is happening is that they were with the national teams.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] scored a fantastic free-kick, like you probably saw.
“Same question, same answer.
“There will always be talks about our players. And it’s a good thing that you ask about it – that means that they do really well, because if they would have played badly then you probably wouldn’t have asked.
“So, it’s a good thing that everybody wants their contracts to be renewed because that tells me – and I also see this – that they do really well.
“But I cannot tell you anything about that at this place.”
On Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance at left-back against Finland, the Dutchman added: “I cannot give you that answer because I haven’t seen the game – I did see the free-kick.
“But I think similar to what I just said about Conor, good players will always find their way into the team.
“They will always find a way of playing well, especially if they have good teammates and play in a good team – and that’s what Trent has.
“The national team of England has a lot of very good players and Trent is one of them.
“If you then play the likes of Finland and Greece, with all the respect, then normally these quality players will play good games, although they did lose against Greece.
“But if Trent plays against Finland with the teammates he has, you can play him, I think, in every position and he will play a good game.
Slot concluded: “He’s been very good for us until now.
“He was and is still important in our attacking part of our game.
“I also like the way he has defended until now in the games he played for us.
“I think he made a step up in that perspective.
“But like for all the others, there’s still room for improvement, that’s clear.
“But he’s done very well for us this season and I think he’s done really well for the national team as well.
“If I’m correct, from the four games he played, he was three times Man of the Match – it’s quite a good score!
“Let’s hope that he’s going to be Man of the Match for us once in a while now as well, although I think Ibou [Konate] wants to be it!”
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