Trent Alexander-Arnold is not agitating for a January move back to Liverpool despite renewed speculation over a return to Anfield. Sources close to the player, according to several recent reports, say there is no active push from him to leave Real Madrid this winter, and the situation is expected to be reassessed at the end of the season rather than during the January window.
The 27-year-old has slipped down the pecking order at the Bernabéu since Mourinho took charge over the summer and Denzel Dumfries arrived this summer. Alexander-Arnold was on the bench for both of Real Madrid’s opening La Liga fixtures of the season, and has made 40 appearances with eight assists across all competitions since joining the club.
Arsenal have reportedly been monitoring his situation, with the possibility of a Premier League return raised in the German outlet Fussball News. Any fee has been reported in the €70-80m range by Fussball News, though no concrete negotiations are said to have taken place.
Madrid consider him central to plans
Real Madrid have already moved to shut down departure talk. Club sources told Goal, via TEAMtalk, that a January exit is “completely off the agenda” and that the England international remains part of Mourinho’s plans.
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The right-back joined Los Blancos on 30 May 2025 in a €10m (£8.5m) early termination deal designed to make him available for the FIFA Club World Cup. His debut year was disrupted by injuries and by competition from Dani Carvajal, and the pattern has continued under Mourinho after the summer arrival of Denzel Dumfries.
With Real Madrid unwilling to sell mid-season, no bid has been formally tabled by any of the interested clubs.
Glen Johnson unconvinced by Anfield reunion
Not everyone at Liverpool would welcome a re-signing. Former Reds right-back Glen Johnson told Liverpool.com, via TeamTalk, that the club should think twice.
“I’m not sure how the fans would receive that move. I can’t imagine they’d be too happy with it, to be honest, especially if Liverpool had to pay a fee for a local lad who left the club for free twelve months ago,” Johnson said.
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“He’s been a shadow of himself on the pitch since he left Liverpool, and if he’d been great, Real Madrid wouldn’t be letting him go. I wouldn’t re-sign him if I was making the decisions at Liverpool.”
talkSPORT’s European football expert Andy Brassell was more sympathetic, framing the England international as caught in a familiar Real Madrid cycle.
“Real Madrid have been here a million times before. And really, who’s the fall guy for that? Trent Alexander-Arnold,” Brassell told talkSPORT.
At Liverpool, now under Andoni Iraola, the pressure to sign a new right-back has eased after Ronald Araujo joined on loan from Barcelona in the summer. Alexander-Arnold’s Bernabéu future is set to be reassessed at the end of the 2026/27 season.
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