Former Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is continuing to struggle at Real Madrid, with the right-back position far from being his own at this point

A La Liga expert has claimed that Real Madrid fans feel "indifferent" to Trent Alexander-Arnold, as links surrounding a potential return to Liverpool have ramped up.

It follows a challenging start to the season for the right-back, who had hoped to put last campaign's struggles with form and injury behind him to truly keep the position as his own moving forward.

However, the return of Jose Mourinho as manager, as well as the arrival of Denzel Dumfries, means that the role in the defence is far from secure for the England international.

The competition in the backline has only ramped up in recent weeks, with the Real Madrid boss opting to use Federico Valverde in the full-back positions if required along the way, adding further players seemingly ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.

Naturally, it means things haven't turned out for the former Liverpool star since he left Anfield. While there is a long way left to go this season, and some hope that he can turn things around, rumors have already started to ramp up about a potential exit from the Bernabeu in the coming year.

Liverpool is linked, along with a whole of Premier League and European clubs, should it turn out that Alexander-Arnold is available in the near future.

As those links persist, Terry Gibson, a former Manchester United player who is now known as a La Liga expert, gave his thoughts on the situation surrounding the 28-year-old and a potential exit as well.

He told the Daily Mail: "In my opinion, Jose [Mourinho] is fudging it a little bit in order to get his captain [Valverde] in the team. But that’s the reality of it for Alexander-Arnold now.

"The supporters are kind of indifferent to him. They’re nonplussed about whether he stays, goes, plays or whatever. That’s sad.

"It’s also a crying shame that of all the top coaches he’s worked with, none of them have been able to improve him defensively. He’s 28 now, so that’s not going to change."

It certainly points towards the direction of travel being an exit, with a lack of minutes and love from the fans being everything that wasn't the case at Liverpool during his time at the club.

Whether that would result in a return to Anfield, to feel all of that again, remains to be seen, as there will be plenty of other interesting challenges out there for him if an exit from Real Madrid is on the cards.

With time left this season, there is a chance for Alexander-Arnold to rediscover his best form, but as he is now two seasons in and struggling to do that, time could be running out.