Slot gives open hint that Alexander-Arnold is headed for Real Madrid

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool manager Arne Slot has given his first big hint that Trent Alexander-Arnold is headed for Real Madrid while revealing discussions he had with the England right back about his attitude in training sessions during preseason.

Speaking Friday ahead of Liverpool’s final game of the season, Slot said he was happy to divulge the conversations he had with Alexander-Arnold because “he’s going to leave either way, so why not tell it?”

“It is already a first gift I can give Xabi Alonso,” a smiling Slot added, a nod to the fact that Madrid is expected to hire the former Bayer Leverkusen coach as a replacement for the departing Carlo Ancelotti.

Alexander-Arnold announced this month he’d be leaving Liverpool as a free agent at the end of the season after a 20-year association with the club. His switch to Madrid hasn’t been officially announced but he has been widely reported.

Slot said he still speaks regularly to Alexander-Arnold, much like he did early in preseason when “he was quite a lot in my office.”

“I wasn’t completely happy with every single minute how he was on the training ground” Slot said. ”In my opinion in certain moments he could do a bit more, to say it mildly.

“I said to him, ‘You are a much better defender than everyone tells you, unfortunately you don’t show it all the time. And that is why people sometimes tell you this is a part of a game you need to improve.’

“If you are just at it and you are focused and concentrated, there are not many players who can go around him because he is fast, he is agile. He has great mentality. It’s about showing it every single game, because in this world we are judged not only on the 34 games we do well, we are mainly judged on the four games we don’t do so well.”

Slot said he hadn’t decided how many minutes he’d be giving Alexander-Arnold against Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday. After the game, Liverpool’s players will finally get their hands on the Premier League trophy, with Slot’s predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, expected to be in attendance.

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