It looks like Liverpool’s anticipated Premier League title is going to be tinged with a fair share of poignancy.
Last summer, Jurgen Klopp stepped down after almost nine years at the Anfield helm. It hurt, but Liverpool endured and are charging toward glory unforeseen by most all observers at the beginning of the campaign.
Liverpool’s hopeful triumph is turning into a farewell, too. One of the club’s very own is getting ready to try his hand at something new. It’s beginning to look like it’s done and dusted.
Farewell, Trent Alexander-Arnold
The most painful part is that if you really stop and think, you can see the logic. Liverpool’s vice-captain, Trent Alexander-Arnold, is on the brink of agreeing to a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid, and it hurts.
It hurts because this is one of the city’s own, nurtured from a young age to become a mainstay in Merseyside’s most successful team in several generations.
Under Arne Slot, Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold are on course to win the Premier League, firm favourites with a 12-point lead and just nine games left to play. He’s already lifted the title before, one of the core pillars of Klopp’s dynasty.
It hurts, but it’s hardly a shock. Alexander-Arnold has been quiet on the contract front for the campaign, and at 26 is entering his ostensible prime, having conquered the full gamut. Real Madrid are not a divisional rival (though they have been the Reds’ European bane in recent years), and they are the world’s most prestigious outfit besides.
The reasoning is clear. Alexander-Arnold wants greatness. We may not agree with his call, but it is his call.
Now, Slot needs Liverpool’s other prominent creative players to step up.
Liverpool's next Trent needs to step up
Liverpool are going to mourn the departure of their boyhood hero, but Alexander-Arnold’s decision will at least be attenuated somewhat by the likely Premier League triumph and the overload of high-class quality to keep Slot’s system purring over the coming years.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?
Conor Bradley, it’s your time. The 21-year-old right-back has been waiting in the wings for over a year now and has more than enough quality to rise to a regular starting role in the years to come.
Noise regarding Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong is surely going to intensify as Alexander-Arnold’s fate is sealed. Liverpool sources suggest discussions have already been held with the Dutchman’s agents, and he could join Bradley in Slot’s backline in just a few months.
However, FSG can’t and won’t expect a right-back to replicate Alexander-Arnold’s almost preternatural creative powers. Other Liverpool stars are going to need to step up in that regard, Dominik Szoboszlai chief among them.
Szoboszlai, 23, has been among Liverpool’s most improved players this season, really coming into his own since the turn of the calendar year. Liverpool signed the Hungarian from RB Leipzig for a £60m fee in June 2023, an essential part of the crucial midfield rebuild.
His ceaseless work-rate, well-oiled engine and tenacious attitude have won over the Reds fans, with Liverpool content creator Asim Mahmood even hailing him as a “champion performer” who invariably puts in an “absolute monster of a shift.”
He needs more in the output department, though, for sure. Especially now that Trent’s leaving. Across all competitions, the attacking midfielder has scored seven goals and provided six assists across 40 matches, which is a middling return at best.
Ranking among the bottom 36% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League for assists and the top 19% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref, you can see where the room for improvement lies.
Szoboszlai will need to make more of his technical gifts next season, not just providing more of a threat in the final third but taking Alexander-Arnold’s mantle and supplying the forwards with consistent creative support.
In fairness, there are signs that the £120k-per-week talent has made inroads on the playmaking front since Slot replaced Klopp, creating more big chances in the Premier League this season.
Matches (starts)
33 (25)
27 (22)
Goals
3
5
Assists
2
3
Touches*
57.5
48.9
Shots (on target)*
1.8 (0.5)
2.0 (0.7)
Pass completion
87%
86%
Big chances created
7
9
Ball recoveries*
5.2
4.0
Dribble (success)*
0.7 (47%)
0.7 (59%)
Tackles + interceptions*
1.5
1.4
Total duels (won)*
2.9 (41%)
3.1 (45%)
It’s perhaps exciting that the peak of his high-ceilinged potential is yet untapped. Even so, Szoboszlai is one of Liverpool’s most valuable players, with Transfermarkt recording his current price tag at about £68m.
This is even higher than Alexander-Arnold’s value of roughly £63m (Transfermarkt do not consider the player’s contractual situation when making an appraisal).
It highlights the calibre of player Slot has on his hands at Liverpool, and maybe emphasises why Liverpool will be okay when Alexander-Arnold lays down his vice-captaincy and moves to Madrid.
Once hailed for his “magic” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Szoboszlai has everything he needs to become one of the greatest attacking midfielders in the modern Premier League.
He’s already regarded to be among the most valuable on the continent, and with Alexander-Arnold leaving, he will need to lead the step-up to strengthen Liverpool’s playmaking department.
Better than Isak: The "best CF in the world" wants to sign for Liverpool
Liverpool are planning to make changes to Slot’s frontline this summer.
2 ByAngus Sinclair Mar 24, 2025