Trent Alexander-Arnold: Colossal Liverpool exit truths laid bare as Michael Owen spells out Real Madrid appeal

Liverpool are in very real danger of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid, with Michael Owen underling their enormous appeal and having advised the player on the “regret” he will be faced with were he to decline the move.

The Reds right-back has on Tuesday officially entered the final nine months of his contract at Anfield and is now exactly three months away from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas suitor. And with Real Madrid’s interest in signing the Liverpool star well documented, the Spanish giants are pushing hard to sign up the 25-year-old as their next big-name free transfer following on from this summer’s capture of Kylian Mbappe.

Liverpool will, however, be given first refusal to present fresh terms to the 83-goal assist machine, and hopes he will sign an extension remain, though any new deal is widely expected to make him the second highest-paid player in the club’s history behind Mo Salah.

Former Reds striker Owen, though, who himself made the move from Merseyside to Madrid back in 2004, believes there is a strong chance Alexander-Arnold will do the same.

“The only other great experience that I could see for Trent is to play for Real Madrid,” Owen told Liverpool.com. “That’s nothing to do with liking a team, supporting a team, whatever, that’s just, do you want that life experience or are you happy playing for Liverpool all your life and it’s not a bad choice is it? I mean, what a lovely position to be in if that was the case.”

Providing an insight into where the player’s mind may be at, Owen insists it is only natural to want to experience different things over the limited career footballers have.

“I don’t know about the grass being greener. Fans think that they possibly own certain players and all the rest of it.

“But as a person going through life, sometimes somebody wants a different experience in life and it’s only a short career. I don’t think necessarily everybody always moves because they think it will be better elsewhere but to have an experience in life.”

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Alexander-Arnold hints at Liverpool stay as Owen warns of potential ‘regret’

TEAMtalk has revealed officials from Real Madrid are in what has been described to us as ‘constant contact’ with Alexander-Arnold’s entourage, and with the player’s personal finances handled by his father, Michael Arnold – himself a lifelong Liverpool fan.

And with their interest in him made crystal clear, Owen suggests the player could be left with a feeling of regret were he to turn them down.

He is also adamant that any move would not detract from the player’s love for Liverpool.

“If Trent leaves, it’s not because he hates Liverpool. When I left Liverpool, it’s not because I hated Liverpool, it’s because that might be something that I’ll regret if I don’t try it,” Owen added.

“That was my attitude. My advice to Trent would be ‘If you’re not really interested in seeing a different side of the football in terms of playing in a different country, different team, etc then stay at Liverpool all your life because you’re not going to get any better anywhere else’.”

Despite Owen’s warning, Alexander-Arnold has indicated his satisfaction with life at Liverpool and dropped a hint that he is willing to carry on.

“I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say. I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public and this one won’t be either.

“I have always said I want to captain the club. That is a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands.

Speaking to the media after the recent 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield, Alexander-Arnold also revealed the motives behind a possible contract extension, adding: “The most important thing is always trophies. I want to win trophies.

“We were close to the title last season and we got a cup. The (quadruple) was on for a while I suppose.

“This season we are looking really good, it is still early days, but we need a lot of consistency. It will be difficult but we are looking to win as many trophies as we can.”

Liverpool green light to sign Real Madrid star / Alexander-Arnold heir eyed

With Liverpool knowing the player could announce his departure in just three months time, it does make sense that the club are scouring the market for would be replacements.

And reports last week claimed Arne Slot has already handpicked his No 1 choice to the board, with Netherlands international Jeremie Frimpong identified as one of three Bayer Leverkusen stars that the Liverpool boss would like to sign.

Meanwhile, reports at the weekend claim the Merseysiders could look to LaLiga in their quest to find Alexander-Arnold’s heir with a breakout star from Sevilla reportedly also catching Richard Hughes’ attention.

Whoever comes in, it would leave Liverpool with huge shoes to fill, though as Slot has done with Klopp, it also shows that it may not be quite as daunting a task as some make out.

It also might not be all one way traffic, too, with reports on Tuesday revealing Real Madrid are finally set to relent and sell to Liverpool one of the club’s long-term targets and one of the biggest signings to ever elude Klopp.

On the subject of Klopp, the German has also been caught up in a managerial merry-go-round that has seen the 57-year-old emerge as the top target for a Serie A giant, amid claims their coach will be targeted by Manchester United as a replacement for the under-pressure Erik ten Hag.

Alexander-Arnold next? Real Madrid six other English players

If Alexander-Arnold were to move to Real Madrid, he would become just the seventh English player in their history (presuming nobody else new got there before him). Owen is one of the existing six.

The striker – who won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 – left Liverpool for Madrid in 2004. However, he only spent a year there, scoring 16 goals from 45 appearances, before returning to English football with Newcastle.

Owen was part of the same squad as David Beckham and Jonathan Woodgate. While the latter’s spell was hampered by injuries, Beckham became Madrid’s most-used English player by the end of his four-year spell, which included 159 appearances and 20 goals.

That appearance tally was one greater than Steve McManaman’s, who moved from Liverpool to Madrid in 1999 and scored 14 goals across his four seasons in Spain.

Rewinding further, the first English player at Real Madrid was Laurie Cunningham, who arrived from West Brom in 1979 and scored 19 goals from 64 appearances.

And of course, Real Madrid currently have an English star on their books in the shape of Jude Bellingham, who has had a major impact as an attacking midfielder since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer.