Liverpool are walking a tight line when it comes to Trent Alexander-Arnold with the club about to cross a dangerous threshold. From January 1, Real Madrid will officially be allowed to begin their assault to sign the full-back.

While Mohamed Salah's name has dominating most talk of contract renewals on Merseyside, Alexander-Arnold's importance cannot be forgotten. As long as he stays, the 26-year-old stands to inherit the captaincy of his boyhood club in years to come in what promises to be a highly successful era under Arne Slot.

However, the lure of Real may prove too much. A worrying latest report from Spain has threatened the harmony in Liverpool heading into some pivotal final weeks of the calendar year.

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With that the situation in motion, the ECHO has rounded up the key events, rumours and comments made over the past months surrounding the No.66...

Fresh word from Spain

Relevo are the publishers of the latest report on Alexander-Arnold. Late on Thursday night they claimed 'understand that with each passing day it is more difficult for him to renew' amid Real's interest.

They explain that the groundwork is being laid for the La Liga club to begin their assault in January. This is following a similar pattern used in the recruitment of their top talents in recent years.

Whereas in the past it was Vinicius Junior behind the scenes who was secretly convincing Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe to join, now the task has fallen to Bellingham to make use of their 'magnificent relationship' and convince his close England teammate to ditch his boyhood club. The midfielder is said to have been doing this 'in the dressing room' and 'on WhatsApp'.

Ultimately, Real are said to be optimistic.

Free transfer rules

Liverpool will be fully aware of the rules in football around free transfers as it looks increasingly likely it will impact their ability to lock in contracts like Alexander-Arnold's for next season.

As a reminder, from January 1, 2025, he along with Salah and Van Dijk will have officially entered the final six months of their current deals. Therefore, they will officially be allowed to receive, negotiate with and accept pre-agreement contract offers from foreign clubs to begin from July 1, 2025.

The only way to prevent this is tying down the players to deals that extend beyond June 30, 2025.

Contract 'offer'

According to The Athletic, the club have now officially made opening offers to all three of Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold.

The exact details explaining how many years or the salary involved remain unclear at this stage.

Slot 'mind-blowing'

In his most recent interview last week, Alexander-Arnold sat down and spoke about how he is enjoying life at Liverpool and just how amazed he is with Slot's tactics the head coach has implemented at Anfield.

"The style with which he coaches, and the style with which we play and the identity we have as a team is something that is there to see," he told TNT Sports.

"We're all enjoying it, he's getting the best out of players, that's all you want as a player. We're all willing to learn to improve. That's what you want, he's someone who will coach that into us. Like you've seen, the lads have bought into it from day one.

"That's what you need as a new manager, when you've got willing lads to learn and receive feedback, then you're halfway there.

"The tactics are mind-blowing as well. If I'm honest, I don't think anyone would have said we'd be as good as we are."

Real Madrid meeting

Many rumours linking the Reds' vice-captain to the Santiago Bernabeu coincidentally appeared in the build-up to the Champions League meeting between the two clubs on November 27.

One of those claimed that chiefs from both Liverpool and Real were going to have lunch together and lay all of their cards on the table regarding Alexander-Arnold.

Carlo Ancelotti refused to be drawn into the speculation ahead of the game, saying: "I'm sorry but I cannot think about Alexander-Arnold. He is not my player."

At the same press conference Bellingham added: "I'll be playing alongside him next season for England anyway. That will be a guarantee.

"But he's a Liverpool player and it would be disrespectful to come to his home today with a big game tomorrow and talk about something that could be misconstrued so it's important to take that pressure off him. I want him to do really well normally. Just not tomorrow."

The Reds ended up winning that clash 2-0, with Alexander-Arnold sitting out the entirety as he recovered from a recent hamstring injury. Post-match tunnel footage from TNT Sports showed Bellingham waiting to swap shirts, only for Ryan Gravenberch to emerge from the team's dressing room and hand the Madrid star his England compatriot's unused shirt.

Negotiations in secret

All the way back in September when the full-back was asked about the situation at its start, he had a clear message to the media about how his contract renewal was going to go down.

"I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say," he said. "I have always said I want to captain the club, that is an aim of mine and a goal of mine, [but] whether that happens is out of my hands.

"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.

"The most important thing is always trophies, if I am honest. I want to win trophies, I am a player who is highly motivated by trophies and winning things and being elite.

"So that is probably the main factor of anything, if you have a personality that is elite, who wants to win and will do anything to win, then that is what drives me."