- Liverpool reject Real Madrid's £20m bid for Trent Alexander-Arnold
- Days later, the Reds right-back suffered one of his worst performances
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Trent Alexander-Arnold will not start for Liverpool in tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham.
The England right-back, who was left out of 21-year-old star Conor Bradley, produced one of his worst performances in a Liverpool shirt on Sunday as his team drew 2-2 with bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield.
His poor performance came just days after Real Madrid made a £20million approach for the Liverpool star, who is out of contract in the summer and still weighing up his future on Merseyside.
The £20m offer, which Madrid hoped would bring Alexander-Arnold immediately to the Santiago Bernabeu rather than forcing them to wait until the summer for his contract to expire, was rejected by the Reds.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, whose Liverpool contracts also end in the summer, have been named in Arne Slot's starting XI to face Tottenham.
The two, unlike Alexander-Arnold, have been praised for their performances in a Liverpool shirt of late, despite the question marks hanging over their respective futures.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will not start for Liverpool in tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg
Conor Bradley was selected to take over as England's right-back against Tottenham
Arne Slot has thrown him out of the line of fire after his terrible performance against Manchester United
The Carabao Cup presents Slot's first chance to lift silverware at Anfield, with the Dutchman replacing Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season.
Slot's Liverpool sit top of the Premier League with a six-point lead and a game in hand over second-placed Arsenal, while they also sit top of the Champions League group stage.
The Dutchman's decision to do without Alexander-Arnold could have as much to do with his poor performance against United, given that he was given a barrage of abuse at Anfield and online on Sunday.
He gave the ball to Lisandro Martínez, which led to the first goal of the contest for the Red Devils and then he was substituted after failing to win any duel.
Mail Sport's Lewis Steele heard one fan shout “if you don't want to be here, Trent, fuck off” after Martinez's 52nd-minute goal.
To make matters worse, Roy Keane heavily criticized the England star for his “schoolboy” defending and Slot was then forced to reject suggestions that his links with Real Madrid had affected his performance.
Several Liverpool fans would say that Alexander-Arnold has had a good season so far, having recorded five assists for Liverpool and returning to the England squad.
But the right-back risks tarnishing his legacy at Liverpool with more monotonous performances if he ultimately decides to sign for the LaLiga giants.
The defender conceded possession before United's first goal in a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Roy Keane joked he would be better off going to Tranmere Rovers after 'childish' defending
After Sunday's Premier League clash, Reds legend Jamie Carragher suggested that Alexander-Arnold Not even his representatives had encouraged Real Madrid to bid for him in the January transfer market.
He claimed that the Spanish club would never have submitted an offer unless they had been given some form of assurance that the star would be interested in joining.
“They are bullies, Real Madrid. My problem with this is that they have bid behind the back of Trent Alexander-Arnold or his agent saying 'make an offer.' Because they wouldn't make an offer, they wouldn't do it unless they have the opinion to do it,” Carragher told the Gary Neville Podcast last week.
“But all those parties know that Liverpool are going to reject that anyway, so what are you trying to create? What noise are you (trying to make)? Liverpool are not going to sell Trent in January in search of a league title.
'What I'm saying is let's not be naive. No one makes offers now unless they have already spoken to the player about it. If they accept it, would you come? People know this before they submit offers. And obviously there have been conversations.
