Arne Slot reveals talks with Trent Alexander-Arnold after Real Madrid approach with right-back free to discuss pre-contract deal

Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold has been a long-term target for Real Madrid as they look to sign a successor for the ageing Dani Carvajal. It has been widely reported that Los Blancos are keen on signing the 26-year-old, either this month or as a free agent in the summer upon the end of his contract with the Reds.

Due to Carvajal's season-ending injury, Real Madrid have accelerated those plans to sign Alexander-Arnold in January and reportedly made an offer for the highly-rated right-back on New Year's Eve, which was promptly rejected by Liverpool. Reds boss Slot has now confirmed he has talked to the 26-year-old about his future, but did not reveal how the chat went ahead.

When asked about conversations with Alexander-Arnold, Slot replied: "Do you really think (I will say)? I can completely understand the question that you ask it but these conversations I have never shared. Not about Trent, not about any other. It was a conversation as many others we have and let's leave it to that.

"If [interest and media speculation] it would destabilise players that other people talk about them, we would really have a problem. At the biggest clubs in the world people always talk about you, for 12 months long. We would have had a problem not just now but in the past six months and I don’t think it destablised them at all."

Slot was also asked whether Alexander-Arnold would leave Liverpool in January, to which Slot added: "I can tell you he is playing on Sunday (against Manchester United) and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here.

"He played an incredible game against West Ham, we all remember the pass he gave to Mo [Salah]. I see him on the training ground every day working his a*se off. He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday - if they don't tell me he is sick but I don't expect them to."