Trent Alexander-Arnold is not to blame for leaving boyhood club Liverpool, former midfielder Danny Murphy has argued. The right-back is set to seal a lucrative move to Real Madrid when his Reds contract expires in the summer.
Some Liverpool fans have wondered whether Alexander-Arnold might have extended his contract, only to guarantee the club a transfer fee from his future sale. However, that is not the case and Liverpool will not receive anything when he departs for Spain ahead of the 2025-26 season. Murphy has blamed Liverpool for allowing the situation to develop, with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s deals also due to expire at the end of June.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is not at fault for leaving Liverpool on a free transfer; that is the fault of the club,” Murphy told Poker Firma. “I can understand the disappointment from the fans for not getting money from the move, but you must be realistic. Trent could have been sold when he didn’t sign a new deal last year or the year before that.
“In football, it’s been known that if you have a player that is wanted or appreciated by other clubs, you look to secure them to a new deal when they have at least two years left on their contract. If the player doesn’t want to sign a new deal, they’ll likely be sold – the club must protect the asset. That’s not always the case, but the football club has allowed not just this situation, but multiple situations where they could lose their best players and most valuable assets for nothing.
“I can understand the frustration from the fans that one of their own is leaving, [but] he’s given everything to the club and he has won everything with Liverpool. You can’t begrudge him the opportunity to go and do that at another club.
“A move to Real Madrid is a remarkable opportunity. I understand why, from a footballing perspective, Trent is going. He has been lucky to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world in Liverpool and he has the opportunity to play for arguably the biggest in Real Madrid, with some of the world’s best players – it would be very hard to turn down.”
Some at Liverpool believe they have a ready-made replacement in Northern Ireland international Conor Bradley. The academy graduate, who is a different style of right-back to Alexander-Arnold, has impressed whenever he has filled in for the England star. However, Murphy does not believe Bradley is ready to start every week and insists he will need competition.
“I think that Conor Bradley is good enough to start for Liverpool every now and again,” Murphy continued. “However, I don’t think he can be solely relied upon to fill the shoes of Trent and play 60 or more games a season at an elite level.
“Liverpool are one of the best teams in Europe. You only have to look at their attacking talent, you have six top-class international players vying for three places. You need competition. For many years, Liverpool have benefitted from Trent and Andy Robertson being unbelievable in terms of their output and the number of games they’ve played, they have been so reliable.
“I think the club would have to look to bring in someone with a bit more experience to help Bradley and to provide that competition. He’s a good player, but he wouldn’t be able to do it by himself.”