'I never thought' - Trent Alexander-Arnold makes Liverpool admission as contract doubts continue
Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted he is living the dream at Liverpool. The Reds vice-captain is out of contract at Anfield next summer and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Free to sign a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs from January 1, his future is the subject of mass scrutiny and speculation. While Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who are also both out of contract next summer, have admitted publicly that they want to stay put at Anfield, the right-back has not made such an admission of his own.
He has been asked about his intentions, back in September, but told reporters that he had no intention of letting negotiations play out in public.
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"I have always said I want to captain the club, that is an aim of mine and a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands," he said. "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."
Consequently, only the Alexander-Arnold camp will be truly aware whether the player would favour staying put at Anfield or is tempted by the possibility of a Bosman transfer to Real Madrid.
The 26-year-old, who is set to be recalled to the Reds’ starting XI against Man City on Sunday after overcoming a hamstring injury, has made 325 appearances for Liverpool to date, returning 19 goals and 81 assists while winning every major honour.
And he recently admitted he has already exceeded his boyhood expectations at the club he supports, sharing how he is living his dream as a professional footballer.
“I never thought I’d play this many games,” he said in Backyard Dreams. “I never thought I’d win as many trophies or achieve the things that I’ve done.
“I’m living my dream every single day and I have done from the minute I started kicking a ball until now, to be honest.”
Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold also opened up on his Liverpool boyhood heroes, revealing how he pretended to be Reds legend Steven Gerrard when playing football as a child.
“Obviously I didn’t see it as practising or trying to get better,” he said. “I just saw it as playing a game with my brothers. But, you put the hours in, you get better.
“I was Gerrard, for sure, there was no-one else for me. I loved [Fernando] Torres, Luis Garcia, [Luis] Suarez, but Gerrard was the one for me.
“It was ‘Gerrard!’ when you whacked [the ball], that was the thing. When you were about to hit it you’d scream ‘Gerrard!’ He’s the only player that I know who has ever had that.
“No-one screams any other player’s name. [But] if it drops to you on the volley, you’re screaming ‘Gerrard!’”