Liverpool are being linked with a surprise move for former favourite Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is still struggling to make it at Real Madrid. Alexander-Arnold ruffled some feathers when he left Anfield at the end of his contract in the summer of 2025, albeit with a small fee to allow him to play in the Club World Cup.

Since then, the England international has had a tough time of things, racking up 26 league appearances, but he has often been left on the bench, including over the weekend, when he was left on the bench while midfielder Fede Valverde played at right-back.

That raised eyebrows, and José Mourinho has also resisted playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield despite him often deputising there for Liverpool. Mourinho has explained: "It's difficult to play today with Trent. His characteristics are completely different because he is a full-back. He's not a midfield player; a completely different engine is necessary.”

That limits the defender, with Denzel Dumfries deemed a better option for the most part. According to TeamTalk, Alexander-Arnold remains happy in the Spanish capital, but there is growing concern surrounding his future. That has triggered interest from a number of clubs, and the report claims Liverpool have expressed an interest in taking Alexander-Arnold back.

The Reds may see an opportunity to snap up a player they know can be successful at Anfield amid Jeremie Frimpong's struggles to stay fit, while Conor Bradley is still some time away from returning from his serious knee injury.

The report adds that Real Madrid could consider a reasonable offer if Alexander-Arnold's situation does not improve over the coming months. What a 'reasonable offer' would be remains to be seen, but Los Blancos effectively signed the full-back for free, so they would have a high profit margin on whatever they bring in for the 28-year-old.

Alexander-Arnold's Real Madrid starts v bench

• Starts since arriving: 27
• Substitute since arriving: 15
• Starts this season: 3
• Substitute this season: 5

The player himself will surely be determined to prove his doubters wrong in Madrid, but he has to be careful the situation doesn't escalate given the vicious nature of being a Real Madrid flop. He is not in that territory by any means yet, but he has work to do to prove himself.

Alexander-Arnold will also want to prove himself to Thomas Tuchel again having missed out on the World Cup squad during the summer.

The problem for Real Madrid is that they don't have another natural right-back outside of Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold, and while Valverde and other midfielders like Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga can deputise, Mourinho wouldn't want to go into the second half of the season relying on a midfielder stepping back to be his only deputies for Dumfries. That means they would likely want to find a replacement before any sale, and that applies both to January and the summer.

Alexander-Arnold signed a six-year deal upon joining Real Madrid that is reportedly worth a whopping £240,000-per-week, so any buying club would likely have to at least get close to that figure. He carries a release clause worth around £840million, so triggering that clause is out of the question.