- Real Madrid have approached to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold in January
- Arne Slot has revealed that the Liverpool right-back will play against Man United
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Arne Slot says Trent Alexander-Arnold is “fully committed” to Liverpool and has been “working hard” in training sessions amid intense speculation and interest from Real Madrid to sign him this month.
The European champions made an approach earlier this week to sign Alexander-Arnold, 26, in January and are willing to pay money for him now rather than signing him on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer.
Liverpool rejected that approach and are expected to reject any official offer that comes forward in the coming days. And although Slot refused to rule out his right-back leaving this month, the manager said Alexander-Arnold is fully focused on Liverpool at the moment.
Asked if he could say categorically that Alexander-Arnold would not be leaving in January, Slot said: “I can tell you that he will play on Sunday (against Manchester United) and I hope he has the same performances as he has over the last half year.” .
“Everyone saw how good the first half of the season was, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. He had an incredible game against West Ham, we all remember the pass he gave to Mo (Salah).
'I see him on the training pitch every day working hard. He is fully committed to us and will play on Sunday, if they don't tell me he is sick! But I don't expect them to.
Arne Slot has urged Trent Alexander-Arnold (above) to be 'working hard' in training
Slot (right) insists the defender is “totally committed” to Liverpool despite his links to Real Madrid
He also revealed that Joe Gomez (above) will “miss a few weeks” with a hamstring injury.
Slot was asked if the developing saga could derail Liverpool's title aspirations and added: “If it would destabilize the Liverpool players if other people were talking about them then we would really have a problem.”
“Because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, everyone always, for 12 months, talks about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs. That happens so many times to our players… so if that destabilizes them, we really would have had a problem.
“Not just now but in the last six months because there were some conversations about our players in the last six months and I don't think that destabilized them at all.”
Meanwhile, Slot confirmed that Joe Gomez will miss at least “a few weeks” due to the hamstring injury he suffered at West Ham last week, but fellow defenders Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley will train with the team for first time today as it speeds up your recovery.
