- 5 hours ago
Five players Liverpool can sign to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold
Analysis
Trent Alexander-Arnold is on his way to Real Madrid.
There's not been an official an announcement yet but reputable sources such as David Ornstein are confirming a move is close, which is as good as saying it's done.
So the 26 year-old will leave his hometown and beloved Reds with two Premier League winners medals and that solitary Champions League title under his arm.
Current ETV
Trent Alexander-Arnold
D (R)
Trent Alexander-Arnold
D (R)
Liverpool
ETV Range
€48.1M - €58.7M
There's an FA Cup and an EFL Cup to go with that, and a Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup too. He's won the lot with Liverpool, has Trent.
Aside from all that, Trent Alexander-Arnold also has got 64 assists in the Premier League which is high enough for 19th all-time. Remember: he's a full-back! Those numbers would be gaudy for anyone but for someone playing in defence they're obscene.
And now those numbers will pop on over to Real Madrid and leave a massive hole in the Liverpool team. Not just in the team at right-back but across the entire squad in the sense of, who on earth can do what Trent has been doing?
READ MORE: Ronaldo 2.0: Why Alexander-Arnold will ALWAYS be a Liverpool legend
Conor Bradley has had a promising season with some bright performances, but banking on him being ready for a full season of Premier League is a risk and Fenway Sports Group don't tend to take risks.
So this is a problem that Liverpool are going to have to address in the transfer market, so here's five players they could sign that would help them do just that and replace Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jeremie Frimpong
Liverpool need immense attacking production from right-back and while there's no one quite like Trent Alexander-Arnold you could go about it another way and get sheer pace.
Jeremie Frimpong has been starring as a wing-back for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga (being coach by ex-Liverpool hero Xabi Alonso) and while he absolutely cannot defend well enough to be a right-back, neither could Trent.
With a rumoured release clause of just €40 million this summer, Frimpong has already been linked with the Reds and could add a terrifying amount of speed to their side.
Andrea Cambiaso
Of course, it could be nice for Liverpool to actually get a right-back who can defend and add some serious balance to their defence (or maybe move all the attacking impetus to their left-back). Enter Andrea Cambiaso.
Current ETV
Andrea Cambiaso
D (L), M (R)
Juventus
Andrea Cambiaso
D (L), M (R)
Juventus
ETV Range
€36.9M - €45.1M
The Juventus full-back was linked with a January move to Man City and everyone was braced, but it never came to pass so he's still available.
Capable of playing possession football or a more orthodox up-and-down style, Cambiaso is able to operate on either flank with equal effectiveness.
Meaning he could come in and play right-back but also switch over to the left should Conor Bradley hit a rich vein of form. His rumoured asking price is north of €50 million, but he could be a key piece for the Reds.
READ MORE: Liverpool to SMASH transfer record with €180m signing - report
The thing about Trent is there is no right-back around who can do what he does. There are great right-backs, but Alexander-Arnold's creative capacity was through the roof.
So why not replace him with a midfielder? Use Bradley at right-back and replace one of the midfielders with someone who can take Trent's creative role.
Angelo Stiller
Enter Angelo Stiller. The German defensive midfielder kills two birds with one stone for the Reds as they need a defensive midfielder as well.
Stiller is a robust tackler and most importantly has a wide passing range. Stiller's 220 passes into the final third is higher than even Alexander-Arnold's total from this season while his 40 passes into the final third, while short of Trent's total (62) is close enough that when taken with his solid defending could make Liverpool a better side.
Liverpool have already been linked with Stiller and he allegedly has a release clause of £33.4 million that the Reds could easily trigger.
Mikkel Damsgaard
Continuing with the midfield theme, Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard has been an impressive presence in the Premier League for the last three seasons.
The 24 year-old Dane is a tackling machine who has 128 passes into the final third but more impressively 55 passes into the penalty area. He has the energy to work well in Arne Slot's system and the vision to take it to the next level.
Alex Baena
Trent Alexander-Arnold has 187 passes into the final third this season and 62 passes into the penalty area. The 62 passes into the penalty area puts him sixth across all players in Europe's top five leagues, which is very impressive.
STATS
Alejandro Baena
M (L)
Villarreal
Alejandro Baena
M (L)
Villarreal
Alex Baena has 63 passes into the penalty area. What's more he also has Key Pass (80) and Expected Assist figures (10.5) that dwarf even Trent's (50 and 6.7, respectively).
Baena is a creation machine able to play as an attacking midfielder or a left-winger. Putting him in the Liverpool side would drastically up the creativity and mean that right-back could be played by a more orthodox talent like Conor Bradley and the Reds would not suffer for the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
