Inside Real Madrid’s pursuit of Trent Alexander-Arnold – and why Liverpool fans should be worried, writes LEWIS STEELE

It’s always sung with a good dose of passion, but last week at Southampton’s St Mary’s the traveling Kop turned up the volume even further.

“Alexander-Arnold, the Scouser in our team,” the song goes. On this particular soggy night on the south coast, away fans got a glimpse into the future, they hope.

Trent Alexander-Arnold captained the side while Virgil van Dijk rested at home and had an added sense of leadership on the pitch. He registered a mesmerizing assist that sparked the chant, then guided his teammates into the away corner at full-time.

Reds fans will be keeping their fingers, toes and everything else crossed this Christmas so that this scene is one they will see for many years to come. As the natural heir to inherit the captaincy, supporters will be eager for the 26-year-old to lead them for many years to come.

Simply put, he is adored by the red half of Merseyside. The fact that he is a top footballer helps his cause – but more than that, it is because this local boy is making the dreams that every fan had as a young boy or girl come true. He is the fan on the pitch, the Scouse heartbeat of the team.

But – and it is a ‘but’ that carries considerable weight – Alexander-Arnold is out of contract next summer, and there is no solution yet.

This time next week, when most of the country is fighting off New Year’s Day hangovers, Liverpool will also face a huge headache as Alexander-Arnold will be free to sign a contract on January 1 to join a foreign club in the summer to connect. are Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk.

And this is where the full-back’s medium-term future becomes interesting and perhaps complex: the Real Madrid conundrum. Mail Sport has spoken to sources from Merseyside to Madrid – plus a man who has made the leap in the past – to try to access the mind of Alexander-Arnold.

The first thing to say is that reports suggesting that Alexander-Arnold would like to be in the top-earning category alongside Salah and Van Dijk are way off the mark. He knows his place in the pecking order and this decision will certainly not be motivated by finances.

So the dilemma Alexander-Arnold faces is whether to go with his head or with his heart. He has won all the big trophies at Liverpool – the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, multiple times for the latter… and who knows how many more will follow this season.

Alexander-Arnold was born in West Derby, on the outskirts of Liverpool, and plays for the club he loves. He has close ties with the city and attended St Mary’s College, whose other famous alumni include former MPs, the first owner of the Cavern Club and TV personalities.

Wearing the captain’s armband for this club is seen as an ultimate honor as one of Liverpool’s mottos, ‘this means more’. For a Scouser, as one source explains, ‘captaining the club is the pinnacle of being a local boy’.

On the other hand, Alexander-Arnold has been there, done that and bought the T-shirt several times in terms of accolades at Anfield. And Real Madrid, the fifteen-time champions of Europe, are difficult to dismiss.

Alexander-Arnold’s good friend Jude Bellingham probably put it better than most when the Englishman recently said: ‘When Real Madrid knocks on the door, the whole house shakes. It’s hard not to open up and accept it.”

Real Madrid have not yet knocked on Alexander-Arnold’s door, but they are certainly looking for him. To follow Bellingham’s analogy, Carlo Ancelotti and Florentino Perez have the address, know where to find it, and may be lurking in the driveway.

The road from Liverpool to Los Blancos has been taken before. Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, now both coaches, are the modern examples, but the most high-profile were Steve McManaman and Michael Owen, who only lasted one year at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

“He’s done everything at Liverpool, he’s won every trophy,” Owen tells Mail Sport when asked what he would do if he were Alexander-Arnold. ‘He can continue like that and just have the best career at one club, be loved by that one club forever and everything that comes with that, earn a good living and have a lot of fun and be with his friends.

‘There is so much positive to be gained from the club where you have always been. I’m a living example and the people I played with, like Jamie Carragher, did just that. He will reap all the benefits that come with it.

‘I was given the opportunity to do what Trent might be considering (leaving for Madrid). I chose that because I thought it was a great experience. I wanted to give it a try.

“You lose a bit of control after that, you’re almost in a commodity, you’re out there and if you’re doing well or not well, then you’re not as attached and ingrained in a club as you used to be.

‘But on the other hand, the positive sides of a visit to Real Madrid are visible to everyone. Life experience… We only live once. Living in a different country, learning a language, having a different climate, different food, all these things are incredible. Playing with one of the biggest teams in the world, or probably the biggest team in the world, can be quite tempting.

‘If you want to look at the pros and cons… Carragher is more liked at Liverpool than I am because of his loyalty, but I’ve probably had experiences, met more people and had more life experience than he hasn’t. to have.

“It just depends on what floats your boat. He must certainly be happy and satisfied with the way the team is performing and the trophies he can win at Liverpool. But does he want a lifestyle change?’

Twenty years after that step, it’s fair to say that Owen still has doubts about whether he made the right move. He acknowledges the life experiences it has given him, but also knows he could have become an all-time Liverpool legend had he stayed.

Owen is a good case study, but the club was in a different place when he and McManaman left. As a Spaniard with ambitions to win a place in the national team, Alonso was also a unique case.

Now Liverpool are the runaway Premier League leaders and, based on form across Europe, should also be a leading contender to win the Champions League. They are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and are heavy favorites to get past Tottenham – at least based on Sunday’s 6-3 defeat – and have yet to start their FA Cup campaign.

While the noise outside from fans complaining about the lack of progress in contract talks was loud, the word from inside the building was always calm. In this particular deal, both parties would have been realistic in their demands.

Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold would like this contract saga not to be played out in public. Both the player and his manager, Arne Slot, have had direct questions about it every week this season.

The ultimate Christmas gift for Reds fans would be for the three out-of-contract stars to sign on the dotted line for new deals. Teammates feel the same way, with Diogo Jota joking last week that his celebratory gift to Alexander-Arnold would be ‘a pen with which he could sign his contract’.

There is a feeling in some corners of the fanbase that the best thing to do this season is to enjoy the football of Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk – and whatever happens next will happen. Que sera, sera and all that.

In the case of Alexander-Arnold, this is a generational footballer who can remain the Scouse heartbeat of this team for many years to come.

It all depends on whether he decides to go with his head or with his heart – and whether he can withstand Real Madrid ‘rocking the house’ when they come knocking.

Michael Owen spoke to Mail Sport in association with Ace Odds… www.aceodds.com/