Liverpool enticed with Alexander-Arnold January swap as staggering Real Madrid pay-cut beckons

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been warned he faces a drop in wages if he decides to move to Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants only willing to place him in the second tier of their top earners – while Florentino Perez reportedly still hopes to convince Liverpool to sell in January by offering the Reds a player in a straight swap.

Reds right-back Alexander-Arnold is regarded as one of the best in the world in his position. But with his deal at Liverpool due to expire at the end of the current season, the player is now just 49 days away from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement to move overseas.

Understandably, that’s a scenario Liverpool are desperate to avoid, though, with ongoing efforts to tie Alexander-Arnold to a new deal at Anfield so far failing to bear fruit, it is a situation that looks increasingly likely as the days tick by.

And while reports claim the player has ‘refused’ their latest offer of a new contract and that a move to Real Madrid now looks a likely outcome, Alexander-Arnold has reportedly made it clear that he won’t depart for the Bernabeu in the winter window, owing to two major reasons.

However, the player has been given serious food for thought about the viability of making such a move after Cadena SER reported that Alexander-Arnold will need to accept a pay cut if he moves to the Bernabeu.

And they claim that, while a four-year deal is on offer in the Spanish capital, it will only be worth in the region of €10m (£8.3m, $10.6m) per season – around £159,000 a week – and placing him on their second tier of earners, below the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jnr and Kylian Mbappe.

That, though, would be lower than the current package he is on at Anfield right now, which pays him £180,000 per week.

Nonetheless, Real president Perez remains determined to get Alexander-Arnold on board and Defensa Central reports that they are trying to entice Liverpool into a January deal by offering the Reds Aurelien Tchouameni in a cash-plus-player exchange.

DON’T MISS

❇️ Liverpool ‘know’ Alexander-Arnold decision with FSG ‘biting the bullet’ over big Real Madrid sale

❇️ Five reasons for Trent Alexander-Arnold to stay at Liverpool vs five reasons to leave for Real Madrid

What would Alexander-Arnold sale be worth and why Liverpool stay cannot yet be ruled out

Certainly, Liverpool’s interest in landing Tchouameni has been widely documented and he was a player they tried to sign back in the summer of 2022 when it first became clear he would be leaving Monaco.

Sources have since confirmed to us that Liverpool are keen to revisit the possibility of a transfer and that funds would be provided for Arne Slot to make the signing if he was indeed keen.

Per the report, Real are desperate to get Alexander-Arnold through the doors in the winter window and are proposing a deal worth £21m (€25m, $26.8m) plus Tchouameni for the Reds’ vice-captain.

While the France midfielder’s opinion on such a move to Anfield is not clear just yet, Alexander-Arnold does appear unlikely to leave before the current season is out – if at all, of course.

In the meantime, the Liverpool No.66 has also spoken warmly about the impact Slot has had at Anfield and of how he has helped him improve his own game.

“He helps me and teaches me a lot,” Alexander-Arnold told FeyenoordPings. “He is strict with me, I like that. He helps me with the weak points in my game and he wants me to improve.”

Alexander-Arnold added: “He tells me where to stand to get the ball. You don’t get the ball there because someone will mark you, so why would you stand there?

“And if you are marked and other people come in and Ryan Gravenberch is marked, there is space behind him and you look for depth.

“It’s very in-depth. Very detailed. He always studies the opponent thoroughly and tells us where their weak spots are. Then we have to punish them on the field.

“The training sessions are much more intense. The spaces are much smaller. It’s a very Dutch way of playing, in terms of ball handling.

“You always have to play to the back foot. If you don’t, he stops the session. ‘Why do you pass to that foot and not to his back foot’? It’s that detailed.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news: Chiesa pushing to leave / Eredivisie striker linked

Meanwhile, the first man out the exit door at Anfield in January could well be Federico Chiesa if the latest reports from Italy are proved accurate.

The winger moved to Anfield over the summer but has been limited to a meagre 78 minutes of action so far – with Slot revealing he needs to build up his match fitness.

But that lack of action is seemingly of frustration to the player and a strong new report claims Chiesa is digging his heels in and pushing for a premature exit at Anfield and with two Serie A sides in talks over a deal.

Elsewhere, Liverpool are being linked with an incoming of their own with the Reds reported to be the side showing the ‘strongest interest’ in Eredivisie ace Ricardo Pepi.

Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are also reportedly keen – but it’s claimed the Reds lead the hunt for a star who has seven goals from 16 games to his name this season.

And finally, the sparkling form of Caiomhin Kelleher has seen Slot warned he would be treating the Irishman unfairly were he to axe him and give Alisson an immediate return to the side.

Alexander-Arnold importance to Liverpool success cannot be overstated

With 102-goal contributions to his name, Alexander-Arnold is now just one shy of bettering Phil Neal’s incredible tally for the Reds and will surely soon take the record for himself.

He has also won seven major honours, contributing significantly to each and every one of those successes and having played in all 38 games of their Premier League title triumph and 11 of 13 of their Champions League success the year previous.