TAA back to PL? Real Madrid use ex-Liverpool star as ‘bargaining chip’ in deal for Chelsea man | OneFootball

Real Madrid are looking to use former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold to tempt Chelsea into selling them Reece James, according to reports.

Alexander-Arnold swapped Anfield for the Bernabeu in the summer transfer window after he ran his contract down at Liverpool, to the fury of the Reds fans.

Life at Real Madrid has been mixed for Alexander-Arnold with a hamstring injury seeing the 27-year-old missing six matches between mid-September and mid-October.

That has stunted the former Liverpool defender’s progress at Real Madrid with Alexander-Arnold contributing one assist in 11 appearances in all competitions.

And just as he’d starting putting together a few 90 minute displays, Alexander-Arnold picked up an injury in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

A source has told ESPN that Alexander-Arnold ‘will be out for at least two months’ with Real Madrid confirming that he suffered a left quadricep injury.

A statement said: ‘Following tests carried out today on our player Trent Alexander-Arnold by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the rectus femoris of his left quadriceps. His recovery will be monitored.’

And Real Madrid are now keen to offload him to bring in another right-back with reports in Spain claiming that Xabi Alonso wants to use Alexander-Arnold as a ‘bargaining chip’ to sign Reece James, who he believes ‘is the most complete full-back in the world’.

The report adds: ‘It’s worth noting that  Xabi Alonso is far from convinced by Trent Alexander-Arnold. He believes he’s a player who detracts more than he contributes defensively, that tactically he doesn’t fit into his playing style, and that he has no place in his medium-term project. The reality is that his performance hasn’t convinced the manager, who has been saying for weeks that he doesn’t see him as a Real Madrid player. He lacks that winning mentality.

‘The situation has reached the point where Xabi Alonso has requested that, if necessary, the club include Alexander-Arnold in the deal to try and sign Reece James . The manager believes that including him as a bargaining chip could reduce the overall cost and facilitate an agreement with Chelsea , who wouldn’t be opposed to a negotiation of this magnitude.’

After Alexander-Arnold was booed by Liverpool fans earlier this season, when he returned with Real Madrid in the Champions League, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes suggested he left for the worse team.

Scholes said after Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0: “He probably left a better team to go to a worse team.”