Where can Trent Alexander-Arnold fit into Real Madrid? | OneFootball

It has been football’s worst kept secret for months but it is now out in the open that Trent Alexander-Arnold is to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

His destination will more than likely be Real Madrid, and with so much uncertainty at the Spanish club currently, the question is where Trent could fit in.

Los Blancos will be changing managers at the end of the season, with Carlo Ancelotti just joining Brazil as head coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Real have been heavily linked with Xabi Alonso for well over a year, and with the German announcing this term will be his last with the German side, speculation linking him to Spain is currently rife.

It seems a deal is all but done, the only question is whether Alonso will be in charge for the Club World Cup or not.

If he is to be taking the reins it poses an interesting situation for Trent. Alonso favours a 3-4-3 formation, which actually could suit the Englishman perfectly.

In England the dilemma with Trent has always been his defending. A master with the ball, his efforts without it have many times been called in to question.

A 3-4-3 formation could exploit his strengths whilst minimising his weaknesses. Jeremie Frimpong has benefitted from this role over the last three years under Alonso, and his numbers have been excellent. In 2022/23 he registered nine goals and ten assists, last season he managed 14 goals and 10 assists, and this term, with one game to play, he has recorded four goals and nine assists.

Frimpong is incredibly quick, direct, and constantly overlaps his winger on the right. He’s a very different player to Trent, but Alonso will already be thinking about how the 26-year-old can fit into his system.

Trent has played wing-back and in midfield for England at different times, and former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp deployed him as a full-back who drifted into midfield towards the end of his tenure, so he should have no trouble adjusting to a new or slightly different role.

If his defensive duties can be slightly relieved and his time on the ball maximised, Real might even manage to get more out of Trent than what we saw at Liverpool.