Carlo Ancelotti makes transfer promise amid Liverpool Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid fears

Liverpool face a pivotal time ahead with Trent Alexander-Arnold still yet to agree to a contract extension. Real Madrid are circling and could act as soon as January, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has now promised soon he will address transfer plans.

The Reds are doing their talking both on and off the field. By one meaning of the phrase they sit top of the Premier League and Champions League having won 14 out of 16 matches in all competitions, and by the other they are locked into contract negotiations with three key players.

Everybody knows these to be Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, with a lot of noise made particularly of the vice-captain's situation due to the affinity local supporters hold for 'the Scouser in the team'.

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"Look, I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public. And this one won’t be either," he made very clear in September. "I want to be a Liverpool player this season (as a minimum) is what I will say."

But now almost two months have passed since that statement and still there is no new agreement in place between Liverpool and the 26-year-old for him to remain at Anfield beyond the end of the 2024/25 term.

In the meantime rumours of Real Madrid interest have intensified. Amid a huge drop-off in form, losing to huge La Liga rivals Barcelona 4-0 on their home turf before falling to 18th in the Champions League standings, plus a considerable injury crisis, recent talk in Spanish media is that they could accelerate transfer plans forward to the January window.

Carlo Ancelotti refused to be drawn into such discussion around any transfers when the Real Madrid manager was asked on Friday. Via Fabrizio Romano, he replied: "We will talk about new signings in the coming months. This is not the moment to talk about signings."

Of course Los Blancos must know it would be incredibly difficult to prise the full-back away from his boyhood club mid-season. Of course Alexander-Arnold would still command a transfer fee before his current deal actually expires and even though there is that risk, Anfield chiefs have not indicated they would push down that route.

Even if this is not actually the case and are willing to wait, so long as Liverpool do not have a new agreement in place with their player they cannot stop negotiations taking place with other clubs within the final six months of contract.