Arne Slot says Liverpool has a Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement amid Real Madrid transfer plan

Liverpool supporters are terrified that Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave the club on a free transfer at the end of his contract next summer, with Real Madrid his likeliest destination. Speaking in his pre-match press conferece, Arne Slot did his best to assuage any concerns.

To be clear, the Reds’ head coach did not say a new deal had been agreed or anything like that. Slot was predictably quizzed on the contract status of Alexander-Arnold , Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk . "What is happening is they were with their national teams. Trent scored a fantastic free-kick. Same question, same answer,” he joked .

Slot did have some warm words for Alexander-Arnold’s potential heir though. While Liverpool won’t want to lose a generational talent, in Conor Bradley they do at least have a very good option with high potential should the worst come to the worst.

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The 21-year-old recently received arguably the ultimate accolade to which all footballers aspire by being named captain of Northern Ireland. Bradley led his side to a draw in Belarus and a thumping 5-0 demolition of Bulgaria. They currently sit top of their Nations League group as a result, with two games left to play.

While the young right-back has only made one Liverpool start so far this season – in the 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham – he has been in every match day squad, making five substitute appearances. Despite relatively limited game time, he seems to have impressed Slot, as the boss explained.

"He's got a bright future, a very good player and that is what we need here,” Slot said. “He's done, last season, really well when he replaced Trent. Trent has played a lot, but Conor is a good player and normally they find their way into the team. I expect that in the future of this club."

Bradley will likely get further opportunities soon as the Reds’ fixture list hots up significantly. Liverpool enters the weekend having not faced a team currently in the top half of the Premier League table. The Reds’ next four league opponents all are, and with Champions League games plus a League Cup trip to Brighton (another top half team) to factor in, rotation will be key.

The Carabao clash with the Seagulls looks by far the likeliest next start for Bradley. But Slot seems happy that the Northern Ireland captain is ready to step up in Alexander-Arnold’s absence, be that in the short term for rotation or (hopefully not) permanently.

Liverpool.com says: Bradley may not play a significant role against Chelsea this weekend but the fixture will rekindle memories of his finest outings in a Liverpool shirt. Hopefully he can repeat those performances for the first team soon.