Transfer talk rarely works like a menu. The reporting out of Spain this week says Real Madrid have put one in front of Liverpool and asked them to pick.
José Mourinho’s Real Madrid have reportedly informed Liverpool they are willing to include Trent Alexander-Arnold, Brahim Díaz or Eduardo Camavinga in a player-plus-cash deal to bring down the fee for Mac Allister, according to Anfield Watch’s write-up of the original Fichajes report. Madrid are reportedly aiming to finalise the paperwork in the January 2027 window if Liverpool bite on any of the three names.
All three have had awkward starts to the Mourinho era. Díaz and Camavinga have struggled to lock down a starting role under the Portuguese coach, who signed a three-year deal in June. Alexander-Arnold’s switch to Madrid, meanwhile, has not gone the way either club or player hoped.
The Alexander-Arnold subplot
Of the three, it is Alexander-Arnold’s name that will stop Liverpool supporters mid-scroll. Anfield Watch described his time in the Spanish capital so far as an unhappy stint.
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He is, on paper, the sweetener in a deal that would strip Liverpool of a midfielder they still regard as central to the plan. It is not a swap of equivalents, which is partly why the Spanish reports frame the offer as a menu rather than a straight exchange: pick the Madrid player you want, and we will talk about the cash around it.
Why Madrid want him
Mac Allister has been one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders this season. Yahoo Sports reports that Madrid rate his physical strength and one-on-one duels, exactly the qualities a Mourinho midfield tends to be built around.
The Argentine is contracted at Anfield until 2028, which gives Liverpool the whip hand. Any serious Madrid approach would require, in Yahoo’s phrasing, a substantial fee. Atlético Madrid and Manchester City are also reportedly tracking the situation.
Liverpool’s contract U-turn
What makes the timing awkward is Mac Allister’s own public frustration earlier in the autumn. He admitted being hurt that Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch had been handed fresh terms while his own extension sat on a shelf.
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That stance appears to have shifted. TeamTalk reported on 29 October that Liverpool are now preparing a renewal offer, with the club looking to tie him down before the circling clubs become harder to see off.
Liverpool’s intention, per the same reporting, is to have a new Mac Allister contract signed before the January 2027 window opens.
