Madrid want £83m Liverpool star alongside Trent & Salah

When Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville revised their start-of-season Premier League predictions on Sky Sports activities, the Manchester United icon doubled down on his title-winning backing of Arsenal.

That is actually daring, with the Anfield aspect 9 factors away from the third-place Gunners as we roll into the brand new yr, however it does current a cautionary story for these of a Reds persuasion. The league is way from performed, and there are certain to be some twists and turns.

Underneath Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool had been a day late and a greenback brief in quite a few battles with Manchester Metropolis and Actual Madrid for the most important prizes, however Arne Slot has introduced new-found management and consistency. There may be an air of willpower about this Reds squad, so spectacular throughout the park.

Flawless on the summit of the Champions League group part too, Liverpool are flying, and that is all of the extra praiseworthy when contemplating the off-field distractions that will have foiled many a high-level staff.

Contracts. A fear-inducing phrase on Merseyside. We have entered testing territory.

The place Liverpool stand vis-a-vis contracts

2025 is upon us, and Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are free to barter with whoever they please abroad concerning a pre-contract settlement.

As per quite a few sources, Van Dijk and Salah are in promising positions concerning renewals. Tacitly, Liverpool count on them to increase regardless of the protracted nature of the discussions.

It is a totally different case for Alexander-Arnold, nevertheless, with the boyhood Liverpool fan enticed by the attract of Actual Madrid, who want a right-back and are ramping up the fuel to usher in their primary goal for 2025.

The subsequent few weeks will likely be pivotal, however there is a resigned undercurrent about Anfield’s fanbase. When Los Blancos come a-calling, it is laborious to show them down – and Trent is patently drawn to the proposition.

Nonetheless, this is not the one battle FSG have to be involved about, with Actual believed to have registered an curiosity in one other Liverpool centrepiece.

Actual Madrid eyeing one other Liverpool star

As per Spanish studies, Actual Madrid need to heap additional switch distress on Liverpool by targetting Alexis Mac Allister, who signed for the Anfield aspect from Brighton for an eye catching £35m in 2023.

The Spaniards’ intrigue is real, however Liverpool have responded emphatically by putting a €100m (£83m) price ticket on the Argentina star.

Mac Allister, 26, is contracted to the membership till 2028 however has lately expressed a need to play in La Liga sooner or later.

Why shedding Alexis Mac Allister could be unhealthy information

Regardless of dispatching Actual Madrid within the Champions League in November, Liverpool would possibly really feel like one thing of a punching bag, having misplaced two Champions League finals towards them, additionally lacking out on a number of high-profile targets and now contending with the prospect of shedding Alexander-Arnold on a free.

Ought to Mac Allister depart too: detrimental penalties for Slot’s venture. The dynamic midfielder is not all the time the headline-stealer however he acts because the solvent within the centre, crunching within the sort out, ingenious on the ball and influential in his management and decision-making.

Nonetheless, metrics nonetheless serve to underscore his worth. As per FBref, Mac Allister ranks among the many prime 5% of midfielders throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues over the previous yr for shot-creating actions and tackles in addition to the highest 15% for progressive passes per 90.

When his Premier League performances over the previous two seasons, you may actually see how he has tailored to Liverpool’s transition underneath Slot, much less of a roaming presence and extra structured within the Dutch coach’s strategic system.

He is additional ahead than earlier than, mainly as a result of Ryan Gravenberch has been excellent in his deep-sitting midfield position, instilling management via his elegant and silky technical high quality.

Mac Allister nonetheless brings punch to Liverpool’s soccer however is doing so in a method that runs at the side of one other thriving midfielder. It’s little particulars like this that differentiates Slot from his managerial friends and has propelled Liverpool into the ascendency.

The equipoise is completely intact and FSG can’t permit Actual Madrid to disrupt it. Paying homage to that first level, the Reds can’t get forward of themselves; as key figures preserve reiterating, they need to keep humble and centered on the subsequent fixture.

However Slot has one thing particular at Liverpool and should be handed the instruments to craft lasting success. Liverpool have a platform from which prosperity may be captured and sustained over this new period, however Mac Allister is the linchpin within the center, enabling a lot of the success of these round him.

Shedding Alexander-Arnold or Salah could be a nightmare, however, in Trent’s case, one which Richard Hughes has had ample time to arrange for and draw up plans if the dreaded eventuality materialises in strong type.

Think about if such an issue have been to be exacerbated by Mac Allister’s flight too. Liverpool would not be capable to recuperate from such a succession of setbacks, like dominoes toppling sequentially, and all of the unimaginable work that has been performed since a German man left Liverpool in 2024 could be derailed.

After all, Liverpool’s endurance, their powers of restoration, have been a factor to behold over the previous decade, and even when these ghastly prospects all got here true in unfavourable type, Anfield would not collapse like that of sure neighbours (no names).

However Mac Allister’s persevering with presence in Liverpool’s midfield may very well be the distinction between top-four pushes and title-chasing exhilaration. As pundit Joe Cole stated, Mac Allister is a “celebrity” who “can play wherever” in midfield.

There is a taint at Liverpool, it is blotted on the material of the Reds’ thrilling season. How a lot of an impact that it’s going to have over the approaching months may be very a lot open to query, however one other stain within the type of Mac Allister’s potential sale, rising in quantity like Anfield’s away part when opponents take shock leads, may very well be a significant downside certainly.

Let’s simply hope that as Liverpool routinely claw again to victory on the sphere, Hughes and Co can finish this regarding quandary within the boardroom and silence the gleeful Madrid followers who scent victory on this switch battle.