Arne Slot must be fuming. No sooner has he got Trent Alexander-Arnold back in the Liverpool camp, fresh transfer rumors linking him to Barcelona spring up .
Spanish outlet AS does at least say that Alexander-Arnold is not expected to go anywhere this summer. But it's becoming increasingly clear that his contract situation will remain a distraction until Richard Hughes can find an agreement with the vice-captain.
The report also reiterates the apparent interest of Real Madrid , but it's the threat from the Nou Camp that comes as new information. Barcelona is said to be "very interested" in adding Alexander-Arnold to the squad as a free agent in 2025.
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Only Alexander-Arnold knows where his head is at amid all this chatter. It's been suggested that his strong relationship with Jude Bellingham could give Real Madrid the upper hand.
But he has previously discussed Barcelona. Back in 2020, he told British GQ that he holds the Catalan club in high esteem.
"My favorite team besides Liverpool? Would be Barca," he admitted (to Alastair Campbell, bizarrely enough). "I feel they have kind of the same values and beliefs as Liverpool.
"They like to bring players through the academy. I grew up watching Messi and that special Barcelona team with Iniesta, Xavi, Henry Eto'o."
Arguably, if anything, this should encourage Liverpool. It's clear that Alexander-Arnold sees promoting Academy talent as a virtue, the ultimate end-goal of which is clearly to have a graduate of the youth system complete his career as a one-club man and an all-time legend.
That being said, it's impossible to ignore the obvious admiration for Barcelona. Between that and the Bellingham bromance, Liverpool certainly can't take these La Liga links lightly, and a new contract for Alexander-Arnold needs to be more or less the top priority.
Liverpool.com says: Ultimately, there's one Alexander-Arnold quote about Barcelona, and a million about Liverpool. Any suitor has to overcome the not-insignificant hurdle of convincing the future club captain to leave the team that has been his entire life.
Of course, stranger things have happened in football. Liverpool is trying to make much the same pitch to Martin Zubimendi at present, for instance.
But Liverpool has the added advantage of being one of the very biggest clubs in world football. Barcelona can't make a credible claim of greater prospects of European success; Real Madrid is the one side that probably can, but there's certainly no cause to panic just yet.
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