Liverpool boss Arne Slot says he has spoken with Trent Alexander-Arnold amid strong interest from Real Madrid in his vice-captain — but only as he would have normally.

"Yes," he said when asked if he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold since the news broke of Carlo Ancelotti pushing for the Liverpool ace. "I speak to every player once in a while. For Trent that is the same, so yes, I spoke to him.

"These conversations I have never shared. It was a conversation as many others we had, me and Trent. Let's leave it at that. If it would destabilize players at Liverpool if other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem.

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"It is one of the biggest clubs in the world. It happens so many times for our players! There were some talks about our players in the last six months and I don't think that destabilized them at all."

Asked if he could rule out Alexander-Arnold leaving in January, Slot said: "I can tell you that he is playing on Sunday. Hopefully he brings the same performances as the last half-year. Everyone can see how much he wants to win here. He is fully committed to us."

"There is always room for improvement for every player," Slot had earlier said on the right-back. "Trent can still improve I think. I've seen improvement already this season I think. Defensively he has made a step up this season. In some games he was outstanding."

Before the January transfer window opened, it emerged that Real Madrid had contacted Liverpool to see if a permanent deal for Alexander-Arnold would be feasible, before being told not in no uncertain terms. Since then, the speculation has only increased.

Despite being rebuffed once already, Real Madrid is willing to make a bid worth $27m (£21m/€25m) for Alexander-Arnold this month according to the Spanish outlet MARCA. It reports that Carlo Ancelotti only wants the Liverpool ace and will sign the player either now or for nothing in the summer.

Ancelotti refused to be drawn on Alexander-Arnold during his own press conference this week. "It is difficult for me to talk about [January signings] in this context," he said. "But we are going to have to wait and see.

"We are focused on all these games in January and the game tomorrow [against Valencia] and I’ve got nothing more to say. It’s not sensible for me to speak about the market right now. I’m not going to speak about it because right now, here, is not the place to talk about it. We will see what will happen but I have a great squad."