'Really trying' - Pep Lijnders has told Liverpool who is Trent Alexander-Arnold's replacement

The race to become Liverpool’s new right-back is on.

The expected news that Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave his boyhood club at the end of his contract has finally been confirmed. It’s hardly earth-shattering news that the Reds vice-captain will not commit his future. There had been a slight renewal of optimism after the Premier League title was claimed, with Alexander-Arnold spotted in talks with Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry during the celebrations of winning a 20th English championship setting the tongues wagging.

But after months of silence, Alexander-Arnold has confirmed he’s set to end his 20-year association with Liverpool. A free transfer to Real Madrid is in the offing after winning every major trophy with the Reds.

Anfield head coach Arne Slot will have been preparing for this. He’s said to have known since March that Alexander-Arnold would definitely be leaving. Who is first choice on the right-hand side of defence in the 2025-26 season during the title defence remains to be seen.

There will be some who feel that Liverpool have to dip into the transfer market. The Reds are losing their most creative player. Mo Salah may get more assists, but in terms of dictating play and manipulating the ball, Alexander-Arnold comes out on top. Players such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong and Flamengo’s Wesley Franca have been linked.

But Conor Bradley will undoubtedly feel he is capable of filling Alexander-Arnold’s void. The Northern Ireland international operates in the role completely differently to Alexander-Arnold yet has underlined his prowess since making a first-team breakthrough last season.

In total, he has made 54 appearances for Liverpool, scoring once and recording 10 assists. If Slot needs any advice on whether to put his faith in Bradley or recruit a fresh face, there are several he could talk to.

If the current Reds boss wanted advice from his predecessor Jurgen Klopp then he may well give Bradley the vote of confidence. As would Liverpool’s former assistant boss Pep Lijnders. After a coming-of-age performance in a 4-1 win over Chelsea last season, with Bradley netting his maiden senior goal, Klopp said: “What a great night, what an atmosphere, what a football game, it was a screamer.

“Yeah, I know it for a while because in the left ear is Pep Lijnders and in the right ear is Vitor Matos. I remember Pep sat in my office and said, ‘I’d put both hands in fire for him!’ I loved him from the first day, I didn’t need a lot of convincing. The thing is, Conor showed up extremely good in pre-season, did extremely well at Bolton [on loan]. Comes back, looks top in pre-season, wow, and then is out for five months [or] four months, [with] like these kind of issues that only young people have, but thank God then time can sort it. At our age it would not get better but in that age group it gets better.

"He is incredible. The fans were already singing his name. He is flying and rightly so. He is working hard and he is a great footballer. People said in the summer we needed another right-back but we were very positive about Conor."

Lijnders was a huge believer of Bradley and even admitted to falling out with Klopp when the club decided to loan the youngster to League One side Bolton Wanderers in the 2022-23 season. Speaking in the documentary Doubters to Believers Liverpool FC: Klopp's Era, Lijnders said: "I was really trying to keep him in the club, because I believed that he would be already ready that time. The club makes a decision together with Jurgen to get him out on loan and it really upset me a lot. That was probably one of the only confrontations I had with Jurgen."