It has been one of the worst kept secrets in football.
It wasn’t a case of if Trent Alexander-Arnold might move to Real Madrid, but when. If reports are to be believed, an agreement between the player and the reigning European champions is now close and the England international will be moving to the Spanish capital as a free agent at the end of the season.
This is an inevitable conclusion to what has been a drawn out saga. The La Liga giants have been courting the Liverpool No66 publicly in the media for the best part of two years now. Viewed as the long-term successor to Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid have been working on this deal for well over 18 months.
Whereas the Spanish side have been awfully loud in their pursuit of him, the right-back has shied away from talking about his future. He told the media earlier in the season that he didn’t want contract talks to be played out publicly. Yet, in this scenario especially, his silence has spoken volumes.
If he wanted to remain at Anfield, the vice-captain has had ample opportunity to make it clear. The fact he hasn’t suggests he’s known all along that his long-term future was at the Santiago Bernabéu and he was just biding his time with the Reds until he could make it official.
And while it isn’t yet official, the fact the likes of David Ornstein is now acknowledging that a move is likely suggests things are closer than ever before.
So what do Liverpool do?
The Premier League leaders aren’t just having to replace any old right-back. They’re going to have to replace one of the best creative players in the world and one of the best right-backs in the history of the game.
Even this season, when the narrative has been that the 33-cap international hasn’t been at his best, he’s still been one of the most creative players in the English top-flight.
Alexander-Arnold has racked up six assists, the second highest for Liverpool behind Mohamed Salah. He’s carved out 51 chances and 14 big chances. Again, only Salah can beat these numbers.
The No66 has an Expected Assists total of 6.7 for the season, just slightly behind the Egyptian international, but the No66 has fewer minutes to his name. On a per 90 basis, however, Alexander-Arnold leads the way with 0.28. For added context here, Conor Bradley, Liverpool’s second choice right-back, has an xA90 of just 0.06 in the English top-flight in his albeit limited minutes this season.
Looking at how he compares to those across the entirety of the Premier League, Alexander-Arnold ranks sixth for big chances created, joint-eighth for chances created, fourth for xA and sixth for xA90.
He has been a creative maestro, just without the fanfare or acclaim of previous campaigns.
His xA this season is already higher than it was for the 2023/24 campaign. His xA90 is on par with the 2022/23 season when he finished with nine assists.
Alexander-Arnold is actually the most progressive player in the Premier League this season, averaging 11.18 progressive actions per 90. When he leaves, Liverpool lose a creator, a progressor, a game-changer and a game-breaker.
Best Progressive Passers in the Premier League | 2024-25
— Pranav (@pranav_m28) March 24, 2025
-Usual suspect, Trent, leads the charts. Will it be easy to replace him? No.
-Savio, Madueke and Sancho, the carriers.
-Salah and Gordon have the best balance of passing/carrying. pic.twitter.com/LXdn3Sl9TX
Replacing that is going to be almost impossible. No sole player can do that, not from right-back anyway.
The Reds have been linked with Jeremie Frimpong. While he’s an asset in the final third for Bayer Leverkusen, with four goals and five assists this term, he’s not like Alexander-Arnold in the slightest. There’s an argument to be made that he’s not even a right-back.
The Dutch international has been deployed at wing-back. He’s not much of a passer, averaging just 34 passes per 90 this season, and he’s averaging just 2.17 progressive passes per 90. Alexander-Arnold, on the other hand, is averaging 75 passes and 8.5 progressive passes per 90.
So Frimpong might chip in with goal involvements but he’s not involved in the initial build-up phase, meaning if he was to sign this summer and join the Dutch contingent at Anfield, Liverpool would need to rejig their midfield too in order to make up for the loss of their No66.
A first phase passer would be needed. Someone to break the lines and get the ball into the feet of the forwards with direct passing. Ryan Gravenberch has performed well as a sitting midfielder for the Reds but that isn’t his natural game. He’s more of a carrier than a passer.
What happens to the midfield three of Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. It has done well this season but none of the trio can be that Alexander-Arnold replacement in the build-up phase, so one of them will have to be sacrificed. Arne Slot and the recruitment team will also have to ensure their midfield options can cover the weaknesses of someone like Frimpong.
All of a sudden, the search for an Alexander-Arnold replacement becomes a much more difficult problem to solve. Multiple players are required, a midfield overhaul might be on the cards to accommodate the changes and big money could well be spent in a bid to fill the void left by the No66. Liverpool have become so reliant on the England international that his departure was always going to be a significant blow to their style.
The Reds aren’t replacing a right-back. They’re almost having to come up with a completely new identity.
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