Trent Alexander-Arnold's future at Liverpool is beginning to generate more headlines with each passing day. The Reds vice-captain is out of contract at the end of the season and there is currently no sign of an agreement being reached over an extension.

Talks remain underway between Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold's representatives over a new deal, with the 26-year-old maintaining his role as one of the first names on Arne Slot's team sheet. As things stand, the right-back would be free to negotiate with clubs outside England over a pre-contract agreement from Wednesday, when the January transfer window officially opens.

Real Madrid continue to be linked as a potential destination for Alexander-Arnold. Reports from Spain have intensified in recent days, with some suggesting that a deal to take the Liverpool academy graduate to the Spanish capital is on the verge of completion.

READ MORE: Five Trent Alexander-Arnold replacements Liverpool could sign amid Real Madrid transfer links

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold latest - Liverpool contract stance, Real Madrid claim, Arne Slot update

However, the ECHO understands that Alexander-Arnold has not told Madrid that he plans to leave Anfield in favour of a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. Liverpool will still have hope that they can agree an extension with the right-back in the weeks or months ahead, but the increased speculation has only fuelled rumours that this could be his final season in a Reds shirt.

With that in mind, ECHO writers debate the continued noise around Alexander-Arnold's future and what is likely to happen in the coming weeks and months.

Mark Wakefield

If you'd told me at the start of the season that Alexander-Arnold would still not have signed a new deal by January, I wouldn't have thought it possible. The 26-year-old has been talked about as the future captain of Liverpool, following in the footsteps of Steven Gerrard as a boyhood fan of the club going on to play the vast majority of their playing career at Anfield.

As the days go on, it seems increasingly inevitable that Alexander-Arnold may not be a Liverpool player beyond this season. If that was to happen it would be the most disappointing Anfield exit for a player in a generation.

Add the context of Real Madrid being the likely destination - a club that Liverpool have been on the receiving end of two Champions League final defeats and one quarter-final exit over the last six-and-a-half years. It may not be an English club that Alexander-Arnold may leave Liverpool for, but choosing to sign for Madrid would still not be well-received on the Red half of Merseyside.

Until a decision one way or the other is confirmed, though, it would be unfair to hand any criticism at Liverpool or Alexander-Arnold's way. For all we know, a deal to extend his deal at Anfield is one of the best-kept secrets in football.

It's possible that the reports from Spain may have been designed to cause plenty of noise rather than have any basis of truth. Regardless, as the days go on without an official decision from Alexander-Arnold or Liverpool, do not expect the rumours and questions to go away.

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold has unfinished business at Liverpool - I could never forgive summer exit

READ MORE: Liverpool contract latest as Trent Alexander-Arnold future claim made

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold contract latest as Liverpool £80m fears emerge with deal 'imminent'

Isaac Seelochan

I find it hard to understand why Alexander-Arnold would want to leave Liverpool any time in the near future. He's an academy graduate playing for a club whose fans love him whilst competing for major trophies.

Real Madrid do have a certain lure for players and I understand that sometimes players need a new challenge to stay motivated. But at this moment in time, Liverpool is the best place for him.

It will be fascinating to see if the Reds will end up offering Alexander-Arnold a bumper deal and whether that will persuade him to stay. I suspect though that his time at Anfield is coming to an end and his move to Madrid will be confirmed in January or next summer.

Richard Cusack

It would not be impossible to recover from Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid, but did it have to be like this?

There's still every chance that Alexander-Arnold will sign a new contract with the Reds but the onslaught from the mischievous Spanish press isn't great reading for fans of Arne Slot's side.

Until Alexander-Arnold signs a new contract, that will continue. And in January it will go into overdrive.
It's clear he faces two choices, stay at his boyhood club and grow his legendary status even more or head for Madrid and join Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

If, post-Klopp, Liverpool had fallen apart then there would have been more of a pull for Madrid.
But Liverpool are looking top class and good for the Premier League title - you'd hate for things to end on a sour note.

Richard Garnett

Trent Alexander-Arnold risks harming his Liverpool legacy if rumours turn out to be true and he does indeed leave Merseyside for Real Madrid, but others have done the same before him. Despite his home-grown roots and the clear adoration he enjoys at Anfield, not everyone is the same or motivated by the same things. If this really is the end of the road for the right-back at Anfield, he will leave having achieved plenty but his popularity will nose-dive for a time at least.

The Reds have a ready-made replacement in Conor Bradley, who brings a different style to the team, but the greater concern for me is that Liverpool will be losing one of their most valuable playing assets for nothing and the only way that changes is if he signs a contract.

Unfortunately, I suspect that he won't and if that turns out to be the case, the question will quickly turn to how the owners allowed this situation to manifest in the first place.

Jack Flintham

As much as we would all want to see this suspense ended in January, I don't think we will hear much officially on the matter. Arne Slot recently said that the countdown to the January transfer window was more of a thing for the media than it is the club and I suspect that is the truth.

However, Liverpool must be careful with all three of their star players out of contract at the end of the season. Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all able to speak to other clubs if they so wish and that could throw up a difficult scenario for the Reds.

Liverpool are understandably keen to keep hold of all three of their players but I feel if any of them were to leave at this stage, it is Alexander-Arnold. The prospect of joining Real Madrid appears to be too big a pull for him and considering what he has accomplished at Anfield, it is perhaps only natural to want to try something new at his age.

The free transfer element will sting but in Conor Bradley, Slot may not need to spend a penny to replace Alexander-Arnold adequately.

Keifer MacDonald

If you had told Liverpool supporters in January that the final week of 2024 would have Trent Alexander-Arnold yet to sign a new contract, you probably would have acquired a few peculiar looks.

After all, 2023 saw Alexander-Arnold, an academy graduate and West Derby local, named the Reds' vice-captain, adding to his list of illustrious achievements since his debut in 2016.

But with 2024 a calendar year that saw a high turnover of key personnel both on and off the field at Anfield - namely, Jurgen Klopp departing after nine years at the helm - Liverpool arguably found themselves in a sticky situation when he came to trying to complete the renewals of Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

But now, painfully for Reds supporters, January 1 marks the date when the soon-to-be out-of-contract trio are able to discuss terms with clubs outside of England and perhaps move closer to a Bosman transfer in July.

And with that in mind, the prospect of Alexander-Arnold leaving Anfield this summer has become a scary reality for those who have worshipped his remarkable talent over the last eight years.

But one thing that Liverpool fans will be able to tell you, perhaps better than most, is that football works in cycles and great players come and go, though none are bigger than the club.

The early 2000s saw fine footballers like Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler leave Anfield, while Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and more recently Philippe Coutinho followed suit in the 2010s as they thought the prime years of their careers would be better served elsewhere.

And should Alexander-Arnold join that list, there is no denying his supreme talent would be missed in L4. But the reality is that this Reds side - currently top of the Premier League and Champions League - have shown this campaign that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Sure, whatever happens in 2025, Liverpool look primed to compete for the biggest honours in club football under Arne Slot, with or without Alexander-Arnold.

READ MORE: Five Trent Alexander-Arnold replacements Liverpool could sign amid Real Madrid transfer links

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold latest - Liverpool contract stance, Real Madrid claim, Arne Slot update

READ MORE: Liverpool may already have a Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement thanks to Arne Slot verdict

Hannah Pinnock

It’s been an outstanding season for Liverpool and such an enjoyable journey under Slot so far. But, there has been this lingering issue in the background regarding contracts and what the future spine of this Liverpool team will look like.

Alexander-Arnold is the one that is less certain than the rest due to Real Madrid’s interest. If reports in Spain are to be believed, a decision has already been made and it’s not good news for Liverpool.

Fortunately, that appears not to be the case at this stage. We know little about the player’s negotiations with the club, but that's how it should be. While no news on a new deal being agreed doesn’t exactly ease the worries, no news from the club on a potential exit still leaves a slither of hope.

Liverpool are top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League and in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. If that doesn’t make it clear that the Reds are going absolutely nowhere under Slot, I don’t know what will.

Alexander-Arnold will always be respected at Liverpool, regardless of the decision he makes. But I don’t think he can expect to be regarded as an all-time legend, spoken about in the same breath as Steven Gerrard, if he spends the peak years of his career at a bitter European rival.

Tom Coley

Of the three big contract distractions at Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold has felt for some time like he is the one most likely to leave. The Madrid media and papers can often do the bulk of the PR and leg work for a deal like this and it is proving to be that way here.

The relentless nature of coverage around Alexander-Arnold is unsurprising and it's only going to continue. For Liverpool, keeping him focused on the football is the important thing here.

The chances of keeping Alexander-Arnold now appear slim in contrast to Van Dijk and Salah, so ensuring that ever last bit of quality is eeked out over the coming months towards a title push and Champions League run is the priority. With the current state of things, accepting that there isn't going to be a fee coming in and planning for life without Alexander-Arnold is the best way forward.