Former Liverpool star admits he can see why Alexander-Arnold would leave and names one player Arne Slot MUST keep | OneFootball

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant says Real Madrid might be too good an opportunity for Trent Alexander-Arnold to turn down.

Pennant spent three years at Liverpool between 2006 and 2009 and was part of the run to the Champions League final in 2006/07.

He still makes a point of following the team 16 years on from his departure, with the Reds currently leading the Premier League table.

But it could be star man Alexander-Arnold’s last season at Liverpool, with the 26-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of the season and Real Madrid interested.

Pennant’s view is that Alexander-Arnold is understandably tempted by the move.

“He’s been at the club since he was eight or six, Pennant explained. “He’s been all through the academy. He’s now won everything that he can win in a Liverpool shirt, everything domestically.

“But when a team like Real Madrid come calling, it’s an opportunity to win something else elsewhere, a challenging career. He’s been a great servant and gave his all to the club as a player. Real Madrid, you don’t get that opportunity very often, if ever in your lifetime.

“He’s given his all to the club at Liverpool, and now it’s simply about, can I go on and win more at another club in another league, play with some absolute greats who’ve played for Madrid and everything that comes with that club. I think why not?”

The contracts of Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah are also set to expire at the end of the season and asked if he had to choose one player to keep, Pennant backed captain van Dijk.

Speaking on behalf of William Hill, he said: “If only one could sign, I’d probably say van Dijk because we’ve seen, time and time again, Mo Salah sometimes in games, you don’t see him, and he’ll just pop up after five, 10 minutes and maybe score a penalty or score a goal.

“van Dijk, you see him throughout the full 90 minutes, defending solidly, keeping Liverpool in the game, being a rock at the back.

“I think that’s the core of the team, him being the captain. So I think he’s the most important part of that jigsaw.”