Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid nightmare sinks to new low after Tuchel’s comments and ex-Liverpool star’s promotion | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s disastrous start to life at Real Madrid has sunk to a new low after Thomas Tuchel claimed the defender is behind a former Liverpool teammate in the pecking order at right-back for England – despite the fact the former teammate isn’t even a right-back.

Alexander-Arnold turned his back on Liverpool over the summer when securing a glitzy move to Real Madrid. The right-back, who now goes simply by Trent, has endured what can only be described as a nightmare start in the Spanish capital.

Alexander-Arnold was quickly dropped in favour of Dani Carvajal once the Spaniard returned to full fitness earlier in the season.

Once Caravajal went down with an injury once again, Real Madrid boss, Xabi Alonso, did not turn to Alexander-Arnold.

Instead, Federico Valverde – who is a box-to-box midfielder and even moonlighted as a right winger in the front three under former manager Carlo Ancelotti, has got the nod ahead of Alexander-Arnold.

The 27-year-old was named on the bench for Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Liverpool at Anfield on November 4.

With Los Blancos dominated in all aspects of the game, Alexander-Arnold was brought on for a late cameo and the only time he was cheered by the fans who once adored him was when passing the ball straight out of play.

The international arena has provided no respite for Alexander-Arnold who believed moving to Real Madrid would enhance his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.

Alexander-Arnold was again left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad and the signs suggest he won’t be on the plane for the World Cup in north America next summer.

Instead, Alexander-Arnold’s former teammate at Liverpool, Jarell Quansah, could take his spot.

Quansah – sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m over the summer – was Liverpool’s fourth-choice centre-back last term and spent almost the entirety of the campaign rooted to the bench. He did occasionally cover at right-back, though looked shaky every time he did so.

Nevertheless, Tuchel has seen something in Quansah at right-back that others haven’t and it’s in that position where the centre-back played in England’s 2-0 victory over Albania on Sunday.

And speaking post-match, Tuchel confirmed Quansah is now ahead of Alexander-Arnold in his pecking order at right-back.

Tuchel said: “I have a lot of trust in Jarell. I see his talent, but I see the package. He is tall, he is fast, he is strong in buildup. He is strong in the air.

“I saw him very strong playing for Liverpool in this position so I always wanted to try.

“And he plays every minute for Bayer Leverkusen since the U21 Euros, so he is at the moment a tiny bit ahead.”

That last comment may be crucial with regards to Alexander-Arnold’s fading chances of making England’s World Cup squad.

Failure to play regularly at club level will always hamper a player, especially if a manager doesn’t lack for viable alternatives.

Yet Real Madrid are not a club who will carry passengers and Xabi Alonso is not a manager who will select players on name-value alone.

It is up to Alexander-Arnold to prove to Real Madrid he’s worthy of starts, rather than being up to Real Madrid to prove Alexander-Arnold is not a bust.

Given he cost just €10m to sign, it really won’t matter in the grand scheme of things from Real Madrid’s perspective if they see no return on their meagre investment in the player.

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