The 'highly likely' Trent Alexander Arnold Liverpool vs Real Madrid transfer outcome as Gary Lineker shares gut feeling
Gary Lineker has urged Trent Alexander-Arnold to jump at the chance of joining Real Madrid.
The Liverpool superstar has been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu as his contract at Anfield winds down. The £80million-rated defender has just six months left on his deal could leave his boyhood club on a free transfer at the end of the season. That could leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Liverpool fans, with Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah also able to hold pre-contract talks with other clubs from January 1.
While the futures of Van Dijk and Salah remain up in the air, BBC Match of the Day host Lineker believes a move to Spain could be inevitable for one-club man Alexander-Arnold - where he would link up with England teammate Jude Bellingham.
READ MORE: Callan Rydz fired up by World Darts Championship rival calling him 'unstable'
"It seems to make a lot of sense to me,” he told The Rest is Football podcast. “Free transfer is how Real Madrid have done things recently. He is really close to Jude Bellingham and would fit in there beautifully. He would be a massive success.
"They wouldn’t focus on his defending critically as we do here – overly in my opinion. It’s a great fit and would be a huge loss for Liverpool, but they have a youngster coming through [Conor Bradley] who has done really well. I think it is highly likely that will happen, although I have no inside information whatsoever.”
It's been claimed that the full-back - who has lifted seven major honours at Liverpool - is keen on a new challenge under Carlo Ancelotti. And Lineker added: "How do you say no to Real Madrid? Liverpool is an incredible football club, but a fresh challenge, playing abroad, I did it myself.
"Playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona is truly special. However strong and powerful and rich the Premier League is, the world’s greats still go to Barcelona and Real Madrid. The only exception in recent times is [Erling] Haaland. That aside, they go there. He [Alexander-Arnold] will love it there. It will be amazing. They’ll worship and appreciate his passing range. He is in the prime of his career. I wouldn’t begrudge him."
