Liverpool could badly do with a permanent solution at right-back, with Andoni Iraola forced to chop and change during the early part of his reign.

Ronald Araujo has been a good signing to paper over the cracks, but the Uruguayan is more comfortable at centre-back and is currently scheduled to head back to Barcelona once the season is over.

Alexander-Arnold will not be leaving Real Madrid

Liverpool are creating fewer chances than ever in the Premier League at the moment, something Alexander-Arnold could certainly help with.

However, the 28-year-old left under a real cloud in 2025 after pushing hard for his move to Madrid. And having burnt his bridges at Anfield and signed a six-year deal with Los Blancos until 2031, Balague says Alexander-Arnold will not be leaving any time soon.

“I can tell you 100% he’s not moving from Real Madrid in January,” the reporter told TalkSPORT.

“Now of course he’s going to be prepared for when his opportunity arises. He signed a six-year contract for a reason. He wants to succeed at Real Madrid and the intention is to stay there for a long time.”

Whether Liverpool decide to look into the January market at all at right-back will likely depend on the fitness status of Conor Bradley. Even if the Reds do choose to invest in a mid-season change, though, it will clearly not be in the form of Alexander-Arnold.

Summertime might see a different opportunity arise, although it would be a mild surprise if Liverpool did decide to come back in for their former player. For now, though, he appears to be fully committed to making it work at the Bernabeu.