Little by little, new clues are emerging about the immediate future of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Although recent speculation suggested he might renew his contract with Liverpool, David Ornstein reported for ‘The Athletic’ that the player is set on joining Real Madrid as a free agent—and the deal could be sealed sooner than expected.

Is Alexander-Arnold having doubts about signing for Real Madrid?

Following the recent contract renewals of Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk, no one at Anfield dared rule out the possibility that Liverpool would follow through on its plan when it refused to sell Trent Alexander-Arnold during the last winter transfer window and managed to renew his deal. Speculation especially increased after he scored the winning goal against Leicester… and the photo that Mohamed Salah later posted on his X account.

According to several media outlets in England in recent days, Alexander-Arnold has expressed some concern to those close to him about the mystique surrounding the Real Madrid bench next season. If Carlo Ancelotti stays on, the right-back position will clearly be his… as long as Carvajal is still recovering. However, he has doubts about how he might fit in as a wing-back if Xabi Alonso ends up taking over.

Real Madrid wants Alexander-Arnold in the Club World Cup

In any case, these rumors seemed off-base, and as ‘The Athletic’ reported, Alexander-Arnold is convinced his time in England is up and is ready to leave Liverpool as a free agent to join Real Madrid. On the other hand, this has angered many fans who believe Liverpool could have made good money from his transfer.

Real Madrid, as it did with Kylian Mbappé last summer, could announce the signing before his contract with Liverpool officially ends at the end of June. However, the club’s idea is to have him travel to the United States to play in the Club World Cup. So we’ll have to see whether Liverpool allows it… or demands some form of compensation, since it’s well within their rights to hold on to Alexander-Arnold until the last day of his contract.