Roy Keane has slammed Trent Alexander-Arnold amid speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid.
Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold, 26, has come under intense scrutiny of late, and the defender, along with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah – Without contract at the end of the season.
Liverpool remain in talks with the three stars but no progress has been made as the months go by, and the players may talk to overseas clubs about joining on a free transfer in the summer.
Alexander-Arnold's future has been a particularly hot topic, as the 26-year-old's links with Real Madrid have increased over the last month.
Carlo Ancelotti's side are reportedly confident they can sign Alexander-Arnold and have been pursuing the defender in January, submitting a £20m bid which was quickly rejected.
The focus is on his future at a time when Alexander-Arnold has suffered a drop in form, with the 33-time England star coming under heavy criticism for his performance during the Reds' 2-2 draw against Man United this month.
Roy Keane hit Trent Alexander-Arnold and targeted the 26-year-old's defence.
The criticism comes at a time when Alexander-Arnold has been linked with Real Madrid
The defender has also come under fire for his performances in recent weeks.
And Keane, speaking in the Stay with the football podcastbrought to you by sky betcommented on the speculation and said that despite all the praise for Alexander-Arnold, he still has glaring weaknesses in his game.
“If Trent Alexander-Arnold goes to Real Madrid, let him do well, as if Madrid didn't know how to defend,” he said.
“He has played over 300 games and played for England, but he still defends like he has never played at right-back.
“He has played all these games and has to do training sessions, but he is playing right back and people attack him as if he is confused and has never seen anything like this before.”
“Trent defends as if Liverpool had had a lot of injuries and had been asked to just take a position.”
Meanwhile, despite the criticism Alexander-Arnold has faced, Reds manager Arne Slot has remained steadfast in his support.
Speaking after the 26-year-old scored in Liverpool's 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley, Slot said: “I could talk for hours about that goal. Unbelievable.
“Every player in the world, maybe except for a few, has a bad game and that's completely normal. But the moment Trent has one, everyone has an opinion about it.
Keane went on to claim that Alexander-Arnold “defends as if he had never played right back”.
Arne Slot has praised the defender, who was the subject of a £20m offer from Real
'Maybe, maybe it's because of the contract situation. I don't know if that wouldn't have been there if people had reacted the same way.
“A lot of them were pretty tough on him.”
Alexander-Arnold has remained tight-lipped about his future, with his last public quotes on the subject coming in September.
“I want to be a Liverpool player this season (at least) is what I will say,” he explained.
“Look, I've been at the club for 20 years, I've signed four or five contract extensions, none of them have been revealed publicly, and this one won't be either.”
Alexander-Arnold was last in action on Tuesday, when he played the full 90 minutes of Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
The Reds, who are four points clear at the top of the table, return to action on Saturday with a trip to Brentford.
Roy Keane was speaking at the Stay with football podcast, presented by sky bet