Arne Slot breaks silence on Trent Alexander-Arnold exit and makes 'we both know' claim

Arne Slot has delivered his verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s impending Liverpool exit.

The right-back has confirmed he will be leaving the Reds when his contract expires at the end of the season. Alexander-Arnold will bring the curtain down on his 20-year association with the Reds, having graduated through the academy and won eight major trophies - the latest being the Premier League this season.

But despite being Liverpool’s vice-captain - and the supposed heir apparent to Virgil van Dijk - Alexander-Arnold has said he wants a fresh challenge and is set to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.

Head coach Slot said: “Like everybody who likes Liverpool and is a fan, we are disappointed. Not only good human leaving but very good full-back is leaving. Also worked at clubs where every season, a very good or multiple players leave. I’m a bit more used to it. If a very good player is leaving, the next very good player will step up.”

Liverpool could bank a fee from Real Madrid to release Alexander-Arnold early so he can play in the Club World Cup for the Spanish side. However, Slot was tight-lipped about where Alexander-Arnold might be heading, despite joking he knows the England international is Madrid-bound.

Slot added: “Do you know where he is going? He hasn’t said anything about it himself. All he has said is that he is going to leave the club. For me it is impossible to comment on where he is going or if that is a club that is going to play in the Club World Cup. You see in my smile that we both know where he is going to, but it hasn’t been said yet. That’s impossible for me to comment on. Team selection, like last week, it is going to be the same thought process goes through by mind for the Sunday game.”