Trent Alexander-Arnold's Future: Liverpool's Dilemma

A year after Trent Alexander-Arnold forced through a dream move to Real Madrid, one former Liverpool defender believes the club should slam the door on any talk of a romantic return.

Glen Johnson, who once patrolled the same right flank at Anfield, has urged Liverpool to resist the pull of nostalgia as speculation grows over a shock reunion with the 27-year-old.

From hometown hero to lightning rod

Alexander-Arnold’s departure in May 2025 cut deep on Merseyside. With his contract running down to June 2025, Liverpool had pushed hard to keep him, putting lucrative new terms on the table throughout the 2024-25 season. Each time, talks stalled. Each time, frustration grew.

Then came the twist.

On May 30, Real Madrid paid €10million (£8.5m) to buy him out of the final year of his deal so he could join in time for the Club World Cup. For many Liverpool fans, it felt like a betrayal. A local lad, a player who had openly spoken about dreaming of becoming club captain, had walked away and left the club scrambling.

The anger was raw. Large sections of the fanbase felt strung along, convinced Alexander-Arnold had known his next move long before the ink dried in Madrid.

Reality bites in Madrid

The fairy tale in Spain has not gone to script. Alexander-Arnold struggled to impose himself in his debut season at the Bernabeu, unable to replicate the form that once made him one of Europe’s most inventive full-backs.

Madrid’s response has been ruthless. This summer they brought in Denzel Dumfries, a clear statement that Alexander-Arnold’s starting spot is no longer guaranteed. That signing, combined with his underwhelming first year, has fuelled talk that the Englishman could already be on the move again.

Liverpool’s name was quickly thrown into the conversation, particularly with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both enduring injury-hit campaigns. On paper, the story writes itself: the prodigal son returning to rescue his boyhood club.

Johnson wants no part of it.

Johnson’s blunt verdict

Speaking to Liverpool.com, the former England right-back laid out his concerns in stark terms.

“I’m not sure how the fans would receive that move,” he admitted. “I can’t imagine they’d be too happy with it, to be honest, especially if Liverpool had to pay a fee for a local lad who left the club for free twelve months ago.”

The economics grate as much as the emotion. Letting a homegrown star run down his deal, losing him for a relatively modest fee, then paying Madrid to bring him back a year later would be a hard sell for any board — and an even harder one for supporters still smarting from how he left.

Johnson did concede that time would probably soften the mood.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the fans would warm back up to him after a while,” he said. The problem, in his eyes, runs deeper than hurt feelings.

“I don’t think he’s the same player as he was at Liverpool a year or two ago. He’s been a shadow of himself on the pitch since he left Liverpool, and if he’d been great, Real Madrid wouldn’t be letting him go. I wouldn’t re-sign him if I was making the decisions at Liverpool.”

For Johnson, form and value trump sentiment. The Alexander-Arnold Liverpool sold is not the Alexander-Arnold currently on offer.

Mourinho’s counter-view

Inside the Bernabeu, the mood is different. Spanish outlet AS reported earlier this month that returning Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho wants the club to keep Alexander-Arnold.

Mourinho believes he can revive the deep-lying playmaker who once redefined the right-back role at Anfield. He sees a player whose passing range and vision can still tilt big games, even after a flat first season in Spain.

If Mourinho gets his way, the door to Anfield may never open.

United link adds another twist

As if Liverpool fans needed another layer to this saga, former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has already floated the idea of Alexander-Arnold pitching up at Old Trafford.

“Trent is a player I like a lot,” Valencia said earlier this summer. “He has a very good right foot, he crosses well, and he is a player who defends well.

“He would be very good for Manchester United. He knows the Premier League. He knows what it means to win the Champions League and the Premier League.

“He is a passionate player, and I would like to see him at Manchester United.

“Hopefully it could happen, because we need players like that at Old Trafford. To play at that stadium, you need people with a lot of personality.

“Manchester always have to renew the squad, and this is a team that we hope can have a good Premier League season and win it.

“But in terms of a right-back… I just hope that whoever comes in can be the best possible option. And I hope [Diogo] Dalot does not leave, of course.”

The prospect of a Liverpool academy graduate turning out in United red feels almost unthinkable, given the ferocity of the rivalry. Any move in that direction would ignite a storm on both sides of the divide.

A crossroads for club and player

So Alexander-Arnold waits at a career crossroads. Madrid have added competition. Mourinho wants to rehabilitate him. Valencia has held the door ajar at Old Trafford. Some at Liverpool, like Johnson, are urging the club to look forward, not back.

Liverpool’s right-back situation is fragile, their fanbase divided on whether forgiveness should ever extend to a player who left when he was supposed to be the future.

The next move Alexander-Arnold makes will not just shape his legacy. It will answer a brutal question: was his time at Anfield the beginning of a great career, or the high point he never quite reaches again?