'I’d rather he..' - Ex-Liverpool star names reason why Trent Alexander-Arnold might consider Real Madrid move

David James has claimed Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold may see Jurgen Klopp’s exit as the perfect chance to try a new challenge, amid reports of a move to Real Madrid.

The right-back has been unquestionably one of the club’s best performers across the past seven years and he has played a key role in winning every trophy available at club level. Having been at the club since a young boy, his loyalty is being questioned as Madrid are being linked with a move after his contract entered it’s final year.

That leaves him at risk of leaving the club next summer for nothing, which would be a disaster. Concrete talks of a new contract are scarce at the current time but the smart money is on the 25-year-old to remain on Merseyside. However, the pull of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham and the potential of replacing a legend like Dani Carvajal at right-back is an incredibly exciting proposition for any player.

Speaking exclusively to fairbettingsites.co.uk, James said: “Trent Alexander-Arnold’s career is one of those really unique ones. He’s one of the very few players to come all the way through Liverpool’s system to win everything. At the Euros, he started the first game, came on for the penalty shootout against Switzerland and scored, but then didn’t feature.

“For an individual, though, there are times where you figure out you should be getting more out of what you’re doing. Having had suffered with plenty of criticism throughout the last few years – and this becomes a career thing rather than a momentary thing – I could understand if Trent wanted to go elsewhere like Real Madrid and look for a new challenge.”

While a new challenge playing for the European champions is certainly a tantalising option, James also claimed that the biggest reason behind any potential exit is the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s departure could be a natural stopping off-point for the defender. “There’s something about Jurgen Klopp leaving which could be seen as a slight line in the sand,” said James. “I don’t personally want him to leave, but I could understand how someone could say that this new era at Liverpool isn’t the world he’s used to.

“He was catapulted into the limelight and changed a lot in his game to get himself back into that position. On top of that, with him not having the kind of Euros he’d planned to have this summer, a lot can happen in a very short period of time. It will ultimately boil down to a conversation he has with Arne Slot. I’d rather he stays at Liverpool because if he’s going to be great at Real Madrid, then why not be great again for Liverpool?”