Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he has no concerns about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s enduring commitment to the Anfield title bid amid Real Madrid’s efforts to sign him in January as the right back is ‘working his a--- off’ in training.

Slot took the rare step of guaranteeing Alexander-Arnold would start Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester United, slapping down any hint of the 26-year-old losing focus. The European champions have made an approach to sign Alexander-Arnold this month and are prepared to pay £20 million.

But Slot says he has held a private conversation with his defender and the situation will not impact his team selection.

“I can tell you he [Trent] is playing on Sunday and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here,” said Slot.

“He played an incredible game against West Ham, we all remember the pass he gave to Mo [Salah]. I see him on the training ground every day working his a--- off. He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday – if they don’t tell me he is sick, but I don’t expect them to.”

Slot has offered no assurances on the futures of any of Liverpool’s out-of-contract players – that has been his standard response since he became manager – but the club has emphatically rebuffed Real’s approach and are prepared to risk Alexander-Arnold leaving for free this summer. They still hope to convince him to sign a new Anfield deal.

Asked what he had said to Alexander-Arnold, Slot said: “I completely understand the question and why you ask it but you already know the answer. These conversations I have never shared, not about Trent and not about any others. It was a conversation as many others we had, me and Trent, so let’s leave it at that.”

Slot does not expect the speculation surrounding his vice-captain to be a distraction.

“If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them then we would really have a problem because if you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world everybody is always talking about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs,” Slot added.

“That happens so, so many times for our players so if that destabilises them then we really would have had a problem not only now but in the last six months because there were some talks about our players in the last six months and I don’t think it destabilised them at all.”

Our experts on whether Alexander-Arnold will go or stay

The optimistic Liverpool fan has always believed that in the cold light of day Alexander-Arnold would consider everything he has at Anfield and commit to his boyhood club for the rest of his career. Real Madrid’s official move has punctured such romanticism. Real Madrid usually get who they want, especially when no transfer fee or club negotiation is required as is the case to sign the defender for free this summer.

Real Madrid will not have made the call to Liverpool without knowing Alexander-Arnold wants to go and that making an offer now would be rejected. It was a smart move. It also means everyone saves face. Liverpool can say they did all they could – and turned down money for a player who can leave for free in the summer – Madrid have shown how much they want him and Alexander-Arnold did not just run down his contract. It is a familiar tactic from Madrid, and other clubs such as Bayern Munich, and usually a successful one.

Alexander-Arnold has made more than 330 senior appearances for his boyhood club. He has won every major trophy in a Liverpool shirt: Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup. He is 26 years old, in his prime as a footballer. There will never be a better time than this summer for him to pursue a new challenge. And there will never be an offer as spectacular and tempting as the one to join Real Madrid as a free agent.

Liverpool supporters will want him to stay as a one-club man but he has already won it all at Anfield. How many worlds are there still to conquer in his home city? Another Premier League and Champions League? He could do that this season and still get the move to Madrid. This is the chance of a lifetime to play for the most glamorous team in world football. Financially and emotionally, it makes the most sense for him to make that leap at the end of this season, perhaps with another set of medals hanging around his neck.

It would be a blow to lose another England player to a foreign league and in an ideal world I would like to see Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham – and Trent Alexander-Arnold – playing every week in the Premier League. So it would be great to see Alexander-Arnold staying at Anfield. Perhaps if he wins the Premier League and more this season it could compel him to stay but everything is pointing towards him going to Real Madrid. They usually get their way and are masters of the Bosman free transfer. As much as I would love Alexander-Arnold to announce his future with a Wolf Of Wall Street meme declaring “I’m not leaving”, I expect him to join Real in the summer. While Liverpool are fighting for the title, they cannot afford to accept an offer for him to leave during January.