Claims Trent Alexander-Arnold wants wages in the region of Mo Salah‘s club-record salary to re-sign at Liverpool have been described as “wide of the mark.”
Though there has been a concerning quiet around Liverpool’s talks over a new deal for Alexander-Arnold, that is expected to remain that way.
Neither club nor player are eager for their negotiations to play out in public, though the Mail‘s Lewis Steele has provided fresh clarity on the situation.
After suggestions Alexander-Arnold wanted a salary in the region of top earners Salah and Virgil van Dijk – also out of contract at the end of the season – Steele relayed word from sources in claiming that as “wide of the mark.”
“He knows his place in the pecking order and this decision will certainly not be driven by finances,” the reporter adds.
Instead, Alexander-Arnold’s decision is viewed as “whether to go with his head or heart” – the former seemingly being a move to Real Madrid and the latter extending his stay with boyhood club Liverpool.
While the lack of comment from either the right-back or head coach Arne Slot may indicate that the more likely scenario is a switch to the Bernabeu, “the word from inside the building has always been calm.”
“In this particular deal, both parties are said to have been realistic in their demands,” Steele adds.
If that is the case, it may simply come down to Alexander-Arnold’s personal desires, with both Liverpool and Real Madrid offering elite-level opportunities.
Clearly it is a complicated choice for a player who, at 26, could be signing the biggest contract of his career when he puts pen to paper in 2025.
While Salah and Van Dijk may have fewer options given their age, making the prospect of staying at Anfield more straightforward, Alexander-Arnold could court a genuine bidding war.
Liverpool will hope their offer, tied to an almost certainty of captaining his boyhood club, is enough to convince their No. 66 to stay.
