Real Madrid a ‘challenge and test’ for Trent Alexander-Arnold, says ex-Liverpool player John Arne Riise

SINGAPORE – Liverpool stalwarts Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are staying put at Anfield after inking new deals in recent weeks, but one key cog in the Reds’ arsenal is still missing – defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Out of contract at the end of the season, the Englishman is expected to join Spanish giants Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer, with the potential move drawing ire from Liverpool fans.

But former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise has defended the right-back, saying he would “understand and respect” if Alexander-Arnold makes the switch.

He said: “I understand that people say he’s local, he’s Scouse, he’s been there his whole life and he always wanted to be captain of Liverpool and be there his whole life.

“But sometimes for players, they need motivation because he’s been at Liverpool for so many years, he’s won everything, and sometimes players need something different to be able to keep working hard and be professional and go to the next step and test themselves.

“If Trent goes, I completely understand and respect why – it’s not because he doesn’t like Liverpool, it’s just because he needs another challenge and test himself in a different league.”

The Norwegian, who made 348 senior appearances for the Reds, spoke to The Straits Times on the sidelines of youth football competition JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s at the Arena.

The event, which featured a record 7,700 players from 550 registered teams, concluded on April 20.

Alexander-Arnold joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of six and made his senior debut under Jurgen Klopp in 2016.

Since then, he has played more than 300 games for the club, winning the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, and Uefa Super Cup.

He signed a four-year contract extension in 2021 and played a pivotal role in the 2021-22 domestic cup double, scoring penalties in both the League Cup and FA Cup final shoot-outs.

The 26-year-old has been named in the Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Season thrice and was appointed vice-captain in July 2023.

While Riise believes Alexander-Arnold looks likely to leave, the recent contract renewals of forward Salah and centre-back van Dijk offer some hope that the playmaking fullback may follow suit.

Both Salah – who has scored 27 goals and provided 18 assists in the English Premier League (EPL) this season – and van Dijk were set to see their contracts expire at the end of the season. However, the pair put an end to months of speculation by signing two-year extensions and committing their futures to the club.

“You had three very important players who were out of contract. For me the most important was van Dijk, he was the most important player we needed to sign. Obviously Salah with his numbers is also very, very important but now we’ve signed two of the most important players,” said Riise, who won the 2004-05 Champions League with Liverpool.

“Trent is also very important but I feel it helps that those two are signed because then Trent can see the club is going somewhere and now it’s all down to his motivation and what he wants to achieve in his career. If he really wants to test himself, for example, Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world as well.”

With Liverpool in a commanding position to secure their 20th league title, Riise is impressed by how well manager Arne Slot has performed in his first season.

They were 10 points clear of Arsenal ahead of the Leicester City clash that ended after press time, and will be crowned champions if they win two of their remaining six matches.

The 44-year-old said: “I don’t think anybody expected Liverpool to be fighting for the title, I think we all expected that it would at least take a season to get management in and style of play and I’m very impressed with how the players have taken his ideas so quickly and how he’s taken the role so quickly. He looks so relaxed and calm, he knows what he’s doing.”

But Riise noted that Liverpool need to make a few more signings to complete their squad.

He added: “My personal view is that we need a goalscoring striker. I love (Darwin) Nunez and Salah scoring goals, but he’s not a striker so we need a proper striker who scores goals.

“We need more competition at left-back – (Andy) Robertson has not been at his best this season, (Konstantinos) Tsimikas I don’t think is a good enough challenge for Robertson.

“If you look at left-back, maybe (Antonee) Robinson from Fulham. He’s really good and could be a good challenge. Robertson needs to realise there’s a good challenge on him, and he needs to improve and take another step.”

After an illustrious career that has taken him to the top-tier leagues in England, Italy, France, India and Norway, Riise is happy to be sharing his expertise with aspiring footballers at events such as the JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s.

He said: “It’s nice for people to meet up in such a tournament and have fun and play, win or lose, and how different countries do things. This is what I remember as a kid, I miss being a kid, travelling and doing these tournaments, playing other teams from different areas because you see where the level is and you can go home and practice.”