Fabrizio Romano shares what he’s heard about ‘huge’ Alexander-Arnold replacement
Liverpool have a huge job on their hands to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The 26-year-old looks set to leave for Real Madrid upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season after agreeing terms with the Spanish side.
Arne Slot’s side will miss his creativity on the pitch but the bigger blow is losing a homegrown star, and Liverpool supporters are devastated, with some even burning shirts.
Romano details Alexander-Arnold replacement plans at Liverpool
Liverpool have Conor Bradley within their ranks and many observers believe that he is the obvious replacement for the England international.
That appears to be the Anfield outfit’s position on the matter as they may not enter the market for a new right-back once the Three Lions star departs.
Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his Here We Go podcast (25 March), said: “In terms of right-back, what I’m hearing is that they are very happy with Conor Bradley.
“They believe that Conor Bradley can be part of this future Liverpool squad. They believe he’s a huge talent.”
Bradley deserves Liverpool chance after Alexander-Arnold exit
The Northern Ireland international has been forced to settle for appearances in cup matches or when Alexander-Arnold has been injured.
He has impressed when tasked with replacing the Madrid-bound ace and earned praise for a crunching tackle on Kylian Mbappe in the 2-0 win over the Spanish outfit (27 November).
| Stats (Premier League) | Bradley |
| Matches | 12 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 19 (47.5%) |
| Aerial duels won | 5 (71.4%) |
Bradley is a more conventional full-back than Alexander-Arnold and is arguably a better defender, however, the Reds would lose a significant part of their attacking threat when the move is made official.
However, that could give Arne Slot the chance to retool and use the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in more prominent roles, it should also make his side more defensively solid.
The 21-year-old is far from the finished article, but the departing star was also at this stage, and it took a regular run in the side to showcase his talents, which could be the case for Bradley if he can resolve his injury issues that have restricted him from fully taking his chance already.
The future is bright for the Northern Irish international, he will finally get his opportunity to earn a starting berth, whether he can grasp it with both hands and make the position his own, remains to be seen.