Trent Alexander-Arnold back in the Premier League? The ‘only’ move ex-Liverpool star would consider as future Italian job in Serie A is mooted for Real Madrid full-back

Severing ties with his boyhood club was difficult for the home-grown Liverpudlian, but a fresh start a long way outside of an established professional comfort zone was sought after achieving just about everything in his own backyard.

Alexander-Arnold won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Community Shield with Liverpool. He was also named PFA Young Player of the Year in 2020 and graced major international tournaments with England.

The decision was taken to head for Spain, linking up with Three Lions colleague Jude Bellingham, when approaching the end of his contract. Free agency was never reached, as Real agreed to part with a small fee in order to rush through a deal, and the 2025-26 campaign posed plenty of challenges.

The odd question has been asked of how long Alexander-Arnold will spend with the Blancos, as he now faces competition from Denzel Dumfries and is working under the tutelage of ex-Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho.

At 27 years of age, he still has plenty of football left in him at the very highest level. Will much of that be spent proving his worth to a demanding fan base in the Spanish capital, or could steps be retraced to his homeland?

Asked if both those boxes could be ticked, fellow Merseyside native Warnock - who was speaking on behalf of Gambler Media - told GOAL: “Yeah, quite possibly. I think the thing with Trent is that he doesn't have to necessarily rely on pace in his game. He's got that ability on the ball just to pick passes.

“Whether you'd see him actually move into a centre-midfield position later on in his career, to be able to play that. I think when you listen to him and when you see him at the moment, he seems very happy.

“I think he realises that at Real Madrid he is going to have to fight for his place, and that's going to be difficult. But he'll trust his ability. He's had doubters all his career, which is incredible because of the level that he plays to.”

Warnock added on future transfers: “I think the only time I could see him coming back is if Liverpool came back in for him. I don't really see him playing for anyone else.

“But I feel like Trent's one of those people that would probably go somewhere else, maybe in Italy or something like that. I think he's that type of personality where he'd like to test himself in life and move to different places.”

Another former Reds star, Danny Murphy, told GOAL over the summer when asked about a potential homecoming for Alexander-Arnold in upcoming windows: “I would be gobsmacked to see him back at Anfield for a couple of reasons. One is the fans. I'm not sure they'd be too happy with that considering the situation he left in. Furthermore, the money he's earning, I'm not sure who's going to be paying him that in the Premier League at the moment. Although he's a wonderful player, he's earning phenomenal money in Madrid - obviously going on a free.

“I think he'll be there a little while. I think he'll give it another season, see how it goes and then see where he stands. I don't see him back yet. Maybe at some point, of course, because he's not old. The Premier League does possess the riches to maybe get him, but I don't think at the moment we'll be seeing that now.”

Alexander-Arnold still has a little under five years left to run on his contract in Madrid, with those terms taking him through to 2031. He has offered no indication that another move will be made any time soon.

It would come as little surprise to see him in the Premier League again at some point, given all that he has achieved in that division, but modern day players are prepared to keep spreading their wings and that mindset may take him further from home before steering any course back.