Roy Keane insists Liverpool “will be fine” without Trent Alexander-Arnold as the right-back heads towards the exit door. He is still yet to sign a new deal but has remained tight-lipped on his next move.
Alexander-Arnold has spent his entire career at Anfield but, as he watched Mohamed Salah ands Virgil van Dijk sign new deals, his situation hasn’t changed with Real Madrid circling. They’ve reportedly tabled an offer to lure the Liverpool star to the Spanish capital.
Despite all the talk surrounding the 26-year-old Keane maintains that better players have chosen to quit Liverpool over the years – the likes of Luis Suarez – and the club have been able to move on without them.
Alexander-Arnold’s quality has been well documented, especially in the final third with Liverpool’s No.66 among the most creative right-backs the Premier League has ever seen, but Keane doesn’t see his impending exit as anything alarming.
He said on Sky Sports : “It is amazing, we talk about Trent who is a fantastic player but it is as if the world is coming to an end if he leaves. If he does leave, you wish the lad well. He has done brilliantly, been a good servant, he has been a brilliant player for Liverpool but I am pretty sure Liverpool will survive. Better players have left Liverpool than Trent and Liverpool have done okay.
“You have to accept, supporters have to accept, that you are supporting the club. Obviously, you love your players and you will have your idols and certain players like [Kenny] Dalglish and [Ian] Rush and all these people, but when they leave you just continue, good players will come through – that is the name of the game. So as brilliant as Trent is, Liverpool will be fine.”
Plenty see Conor Bradley as a ready made replacement for Alexander-Arnold. He is another academy product and has impressed when given an opportunity, but he has ultimately remained behind his team-mate in the pecking order.
Liverpool started with Bradley at right-back for the trip to Leicester whilst Alexander-Arnold had to make do with a spot on the bench before appearing and quickly making an impact. His strike was enough to see off the Foxes on Sunday and he appeared sentimental at full-time.
“I’ve said all season I’m not going to speak on my situation. I’m not going to go into details,” he said. “But days like these are always special. Scoring goals, winning games and being close to winning titles are special moments that will live with me forever.”
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