Arne Slot is waiting on an update on several of his Liverpool players ahead of the Premier League clash against Manchester United

Arne Slot is waiting on an update on several of his Liverpool players ahead of the Premier League clash against Manchester United

Real Madrid is considering making another move for Trent Alexander-Arnold this month, according to reports.

The Spanish giant made a shock bid for the Liverpool vice-captain on New Year’s Eve before the January transfer window opened. The Reds though quickly rebuffed the approach, with the club having no interest in selling Alexander-Arnold this month.

The right-back is set to be out of contract at the end of the season, and has been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu. Although a pre-contract agreement is a possibility now, Real looks to be going all in on signing Alexander-Arnold this month amid an injury crisis in defense.

According to the Mirror, Real is considering another approach and is willing to pay up to $26m (£20.7m/€25m) to do a deal this month.

Despite recent reports in Spain suggesting Alexander-Arnold has told Liverpool he has decided to make the move to Madrid, sources at the club have indicated that he hasn’t had any such conversation, and that the club is still hopeful he will sign a new contract at Anfield.

The 26-year-old has been offered a new deal by the club, with talks ongoing. Real though is keen to get a new right-back in this month, with first-choice option Dani Carvajal set to be out for the remainder of the season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to air his frustration at recent speculation over his future during Liverpool's win over West Ham (Image: Getty Images)

The European champions though are wary of upsetting Alexander-Arnold, with their main aim being to sign him either now or in the summer. The defender seemed to air his frustration at recent speculation when he celebrated his goal at West Ham by making a talking gesture with his hand.

Liverpool is obviously keen not to have Alexander-Arnold’s head turned, with the Reds leading the way in the Premier League and in a strong position in the Champions League as well. With Conor Bradley injured at the moment, Arne Slot can ill-afford to see his first-choice right-back leave this month.

Liverpool.com says: It’s pretty obvious what Liverpool needs to do if another offer arrives from Madrid. The Reds simply cannot let one of their key players leave in the middle of a title race, especially one that they’re leading.

It does seem like an effort from Real to unsettle the player, and hopefully that might backfire on them. Considering Alexander-Arnold has said he doesn’t want his future being played out in public, you can’t imagine he’ll be best pleased with becoming the center of attention at the moment.

Adblock test (Why?)

Arsenal has narrowed the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League as the title race looks to be developing into a two-horse race.

The Gunners found themselves sitting nine points behind the Reds ahead of their clash with Brentford on New Year’s Day, with Arne Slot’s side having closed out 2024 in style with a 5-0 win at West Ham.

It looked at one stage like Liverpool would maintain its eight-point advantage at the top of the table after Bryan Mbeumo put the Bees ahead, but Gabriel Jesus equalized midway through the first half before Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus struck after the break to secure Mikel Arteta’s side a 3-1 win.

That puts them within six points of Liverpool, although of course the Reds still have a game in hand. Nevertheless, it looks as if the title race could now be between just the two sides.

With Chelsea suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at Ipswich, the Blues have fallen 10 points behind Liverpool, while Manchester City sits 14 points back on the Reds, leaving both of those sides a mountain to climb.

Liverpool fans will therefore be keeping a close eye on Arsenal’s fixtures over the coming months, hoping for a few slip-ups in order to aid their title hopes.

Arsenal's next 5 Premier League fixtures

• 4 January : Brighton (A)
• 15 January: Tottenham (H)
• 18 January: Aston Villa (H)
• 25 January: Wolves (A)
• 1 February: Man City (H)

Arsenal has overcome one tough test in Brentford, although there are plenty more lying in wait now. A trip to Brighton is certainly not to be underestimated, although the Seagulls are without a win in their last seven outings.

Tottenham and Aston Villa will pose a threat, although the Gunners do have home advantage in those two games, while Wolves is certainly a different prospect now after picking up seven points in their last three games under new boss Vitor Pereira. Liverpool might well be hoping Manchester City can rediscover its form in time for its trip to north London next month.

Liverpool's next 5 Premier League fixtures

• 5 January: Manchester United (H)
• 14 January: Nottingham Forest (A)
• 18 January: Brentford (A)
• 25 January: Ipswich (H)
• 1 February: Bournemouth (A)

Liverpool gets 2025 underway by hosting its greatest rival Manchester United on Sunday. Given the mess Ruben Amorim’s team is in, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Reds, although you wouldn’t want to call it just yet.

A trip to Nottingham Forest is quite the daunting prospect this season, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sitting third, and having the boast of being the only side to have beaten Liverpool this season. Slot will no doubt want some revenge there.

Trips to Brentford and Bournemouth either side of hosting Ipswich will be tricky, although the Reds will be expected to take maximum points. If they can come out of the other side of these next five games with their lead over Arsenal intact, or even having grown, that title might well be getting closer to Anfield.

Adblock test (Why?)

Arsenal moved to within six points of Liverpool with victory against Brentford on Wednesday, and Mohamed Salah posted on social media to update fans during the game

Arsenal moved to within six points of Liverpool with victory against Brentford on Wednesday, and Mohamed Salah posted on social media to update fans during the game

Arsenal used the first day of 2025 to send out a reminder of its title credentials by coming from behind to beat Brentford. The Gunners are now six points adrift of Liverpool at the top, although Arne Slot's men still have a game in hand.

It had been the perfect festive period for Liverpool with three wins out of three, including two impressive results away from home at Tottenham and West Ham. Slot's team has scored 14 goals in those matches to cement their place as clear title favorites.

Manchester City's struggles look to have ended any hope of retaining the title while Chelsea has lost its last two games against Fulham and Ipswich. And as the New Year gets underway, it seems Arsenal is best placed to challenge the Reds.

It won't come as a surprise to the Liverpool boss, who has continued to talk Arsenal up. After all, Manchester City only pipped the Gunners to the title on the final day last season, and they weren't far away a year earlier.

Mikel Arteta knew his team had to be at their best against a Brentford side who had lost just once at home this season. And the Bees threatened to cause another upset when Liverpool-linked Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring.

It could have been two for the home side when David Raya almost fumbled the ball into the back of his net. But seconds later Arsenal was level as Gabriel Jesus headed home after Thomas Partey had been denied.

And Arsenal came racing out of the traps after the interval to pull clear of Brentford. Mark Flekken failed to hold onto a corner, allowing Mikel Merino to tap home from close range before Gabriel Martinelli made it 3-1 soon after.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is primed for a title challenge (Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

It was the perfect result for Arsenal, who remains without key man Bukayo Saka through injury while Kai Havertz missed out through illness. Arteta also opted to give Declan Rice a rest, with the decision ultimately vindicated.

Arsenal has the opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool to two points this weekend when it travels to Brighton on Saturday evening. That comes before Liverpool's visit of struggling Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday.

Arteta had warned ahead of the game that his side would be ready to pounce, should Liverpool drop off in the second half of the season. There is no sign of Slot's men doing that right now but few would expect them to keep this excellent run going from now until May.

The lead at this stage of the season gives Liverpool some breathing space and Arsenal knows it cannot afford too many slip-ups in the run-in. It could go down to the wire but there is no doubt who is in the driving seat right now.

Adblock test (Why?)

Hannibal Mejbri, who was condemned by Jurgen Klopp following his cameo against Liverpool, was sent-off for a stamp against a current Reds loanee.

Hannibal Mejbri, who was condemned by Jurgen Klopp following his cameo against Liverpool, was sent-off for a stamp against a current Reds loanee.

Latest Liverpool transfer news and gossip as the Reds are being linked with two potential Darwin Nunez replacements

Max Greenhouse's dad has asked people to share his message

Latest Liverpool transfer news and gossip as the Reds are being linked with two potential Darwin Nunez replacements

Max Greenhouse's dad has asked people to share his message

Joe Gomez is now Liverpool’s longest-serving senior player, but the club’s tenured utility defender has found himself having to prove himself time and time again over the last 10 years.

Having arrived as an 18-year-old from Charlton in 2015, Gomez joined with a blossoming reputation and a £3.5 million price tag that suggested he would be immediately considered for the first team.

The brakes were never deliberately applied in the near-decade since, though as he learned again on Sunday, the bigger issue is when they are forcibly done so.

Gomez made his eighth consecutive start in the trip to West Ham that ended 2024 with a 5-0 win, but was unable to finish the first half as he pulled his hamstring in a challenge with Max Kilman and called for a substitution.

Jarell Quansah took his place and, speaking after the game, Arne Slot accepted that his No. 2 would be out for “quite a bit” as medical staff organised scans to take place at the start of the week.

The extent of Gomez’s injury is unclear, but its timing arguably could not have been worse for the player himself, who was visibly frustrated as he walked off the pitch with club doctor Amit Pannu.

When Ibrahima Konate‘s absence was confirmed following a ridiculous tackle from Real Madrid striker Endrick, Slot had the choice of two options as the Frenchman’s stand-in.

Given Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas were also sidelined and Trent Alexander-Arnold had required painkilling injections to get through games, it was unclear at first whether the head coach would opt for Gomez or Quansah at centre-back.

• READ: It may be ‘all talk’, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only one who can end it

Gomez’s versatility suggested he could be kept for rotation at full-back, rather than alongside Virgil van Dijk in the centre, but Slot defied that logic and deployed him at the heart of defence.

It was a smart decision, particularly given Quansah’s inconsistency when called upon this season, with the reunion of Liverpool’s successful back four of years gone by providing the stability and assurance needed.

While it may have taken Gomez a period to find his feet again, before long he had rekindled the partnership with Van Dijk that made him such a key player under Jurgen Klopp, furnished by their understanding with Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as full-backs.

Such was Gomez’s form in the absence of Konate – particularly against Man City, Tottenham and with 10 men against Fulham – that there could have been a debate over whether the No. 5 should immediately reclaim his starting spot when fit.

Gomez will certainly have felt that way, but now the decision is much simpler for Slot, who will now await the return of Konate as a matter of urgency.

It is a familiar scenario for Gomez, who has found himself in and out of favour during his time at Liverpool often due to his remarkable misfortune when it comes to injuries.

Van Dijk has been Liverpool’s only real constant at centre-back, with Gomez, Konate, Joel Matip and, for a time, Dejan Lovren cycled through as the Dutchman’s regular partners.

Though he may be burdened with the ‘injury prone’ label, it would be unfair to describe Gomez as such despite missing 226 games for club and country with cruciate ligament, heel and patellar tendon injuries as well as a broken leg.

Instead, he deserves to be recognised as a model professional and a dedicated athlete who has managed to overcome freak setbacks that would end the top-level careers of many others, with a mental fortitude to stay relevant at a club like Liverpool.

“I know how blessed I am to be here and it will be 10 years in the summer. I don’t take that for granted,” he said earlier in December, having seen a £45 million move to Newcastle break down over the summer.

“It is the best club in the world in my eyes and it was quickly a case of adapting and getting into the swing of things [after it was clear I would stay]. It was good to put it to bed.

“It’s football. To be somewhere 10 years and not have any blips would not be natural.”

On his role as a reliable squad player, however, he did add: “It is tricky because you don’t know when the chance will come or under what circumstances, what position and so on and so forth.

“But I can only control what I can focus on, and that is being the best professional I can be.”

It stands to reason that Gomez will resume that position when he returns from his hamstring injury, by which point Konate is likely to have reclaimed the spot alongside Van Dijk and, hopefully, found world-class form again.

Of course, Slot would likely have phased Konate back in regardless, but that Gomez has lost his spot through a muscle injury – almost certainly caused by an overload of minutes having been largely inactive beforehand – is a mental blow more than anything.

Still, as his head coach will acknowledge, Liverpool’s renaissance man has proved once again that he is more than just a valuable backup.

Joe Gomez can be relied upon whenever and wherever.

Adblock test (Why?)

Following Real Madrid‘s failed bid to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold at the start of the January transfer window, the expectation is that he will eventually leave.

Today’s Main LFC Headline

Alexander-Arnold was subject of a proposal worth around £20 million on New Year’s Eve which, unsurprisingly, Liverpool immediately dismissed.

It has been widely reported that the Reds have no intention of allowing their No. 66 to leave before the end of the season, though his expiring contract makes it likely a move to Real will eventually come to pass.

That is the belief of a number of journalists in an update from the Telegraph, including Liverpool reporter Chris Bascombe.

Bascombe writes that Liverpool have “still not given up hope” of tying Alexander-Arnold down to a new deal, but “Real’s effort to try to buy the player early demonstrates their confidence that if they do not sign him this month, they will do so in the summer.”

Colleague Jason Burt writes: “Real Madrid will not have made the call to Liverpool without knowing Alexander-Arnold wants to go and that making an offer now would be rejected.”

“As much as I would love Alexander-Arnold to announce his future with a Wolf Of Wall Street meme declaring ‘I’m not leaving’, I expect him to join Real in the summer,” adds Mike McGrath.

• READ: When Alexander-Arnold’s camp held positive talks with Real Madrid

Today’s Liverpool FC News

More from This Is Anfield

With it now 2025, This Is Anfield’s Adam Beattie has looked for one New Year’s resolution for every player in the Liverpool squad. Here’s his target for Mo Salah:

“Having broken the Premier League goalscoring record for a single campaign in his first season on Merseyside, Salah has since seen that crown be taken off him by Erling Haaland.

“It is quite the bar, but the Egyptian King is in perhaps the best form of his life and finds himself on 17 goals with 20 games still to go, only a fool would bet against him threatening Haaland’s tally of 36 in 2022/23.”

Elsewhere in the football world today

• Marcus Rashford has been forced to deny claims he has hired an agency to secure a move away from Man United this month (Mail)

• Wolves striker Matheus Cunha has been banned for two games for his involvement in an altercation with Ipswich staff after a 2-1 loss last month (Premier League)

• Wigan have announced the signing of right-back Josh Robinson from Arsenal, which could trigger Calvin Ramsay‘s premature return to Liverpool (WAFC)

Liverpool FC: On this day

On this day in 2018, Liverpool completed their best-ever January signing – and one of the best in the club’s entire history.

Virgil van Dijk‘s move was announced on December 27, 2017 but the Dutchman could only formally join on New Year’s Day, with it now seven years since he made his arrival.

He has made 294 appearances, won eight trophies, finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or and now captains Liverpool. That’s £75 million well spent.

Adblock test (Why?)