Tranmere Rovers reply to Roy Keane, Trent Alexander-Arnold jibe after Liverpool v Man United horror show | OneFootball

The England international right-back didn't have his finest showing at Anfield on Sunday, leading to Keane bringing up Tranmere's name

Liverpool against Manchester United is always a hotly-contested inter-city rivalry match whenever they cross paths, but League Two strugglers Tranmere Rovers unexpectedly became a talking point at half-time of Sunday's clash at Anfield.

Tranmere of course reside just across the River Mersey and not too far away from the Reds, but they are worlds apart from Arne Slot's table-topping Premier League side.

In a pulsating 2-2 draw between two clubs either end of the A580 though, one of the main talking points was that of Trent Alexander-Arnold - including Roy Keane's scathing analysis of his first-half showing.

Tranmere Rovers respond to being name-dropped by Roy Keane in Trent Alexander-Arnold criticism

At the start of 2025, Alexander-Arnold was already one of the most talked-about footballers in the world due to Real Madrid's transfer pursuit of the soon-to-be out of contract right-back.

The Spanish giants have had an approach turned down to sign the 26-year-old immediately, as per numerous publications including David Ornstein of The Athletic, but they can offer a contract to sign the England international right now, to be pre-agreed ahead of July 2025.

And he played like his head was elsewhere against United, with an 86-minute performance littered with mistakes and poor play, including a loose pass which allowed the Red Devils to stay on the attack, in a move which ended with Lisandro Martinez powering the ball past Alisson to make it 1-0 early in the second half.

Prior to that though, United legend Roy Keane ripped into Alexander-Arnold at half-time, suggesting the only place he will be getting a move to on the back of his performance was Tranmere, not Real Madrid.

It was a rather unexpected mention of a team that are currently languishing in 20th position in League Two, but they clearly saw the funny side of it, as they issued a tongue-in-cheek response involving their current right-back Cameron Norman.

Norman has played 21 times for Rovers since his summer move from MK Dons, and was on the scoresheet this past weekend in a win over Carlisle United at Prenton Park.

Tranmere Rovers' current form under Nigel Adkins

Ironically, Tranmere's surprise name drop by Keane on primetime Sunday afternoon coverage on Sky Sports is perhaps one of the brighter moments of their 2024-25 season.

A mid-table 16th-placed finish in the previous campaign would've been expected to be built upon, but it has been a struggle for manager Nigel Adkins in recent months.