Trent Alexander-Arnold's Future: Liverpool Return or Manchester United Move?
A year after Trent Alexander-Arnold forced through his dream move to Real Madrid, talk of a shock return to Liverpool has already begun – but one former Anfield favourite wants the club to slam that door shut.
The right-back’s long goodbye from Liverpool dominated the 2024-25 season. With his deal running down towards a June 2025 expiry, the club pushed hard to keep their homegrown star, putting lucrative new terms on the table. Alexander-Arnold stalled, weighed up his options and, in the end, chose Madrid.
On May 30, 2025, Liverpool accepted €10million (£8.5m) to release him early so he could join Los Blancos in time for the Club World Cup.
The reaction on Merseyside was furious. Many supporters felt misled, convinced he had strung the club along while publicly talking about captaining Liverpool one day, only to walk away when it suited him.
His first season at the Bernabeu has done little to cool the debate. Alexander-Arnold struggled to impose himself in Spain, and Madrid have now moved to sign Denzel Dumfries, a clear challenge to the Englishman’s place in the starting XI. That combination – underwhelming form and fresh competition – has sparked rumours that he could already be on the move again, with Liverpool inevitably thrown into the conversation.
Glen Johnson's Opinion
Glen Johnson wants no part of it.
The former Liverpool and England right-back was asked about the prospect of Alexander-Arnold returning to Anfield, particularly with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both coming off injury-hit campaigns.
“I’m not sure how the fans would receive that move,” Johnson told Liverpool.com. “I can’t imagine they’d be too happy with it, to be honest, especially if Liverpool had to pay a fee for a local lad who left the club for free twelve months ago.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the fans would warm back up to him after a while, but I don’t think he’s the same player as he was at Liverpool a year or two ago.
“He’s been a shadow of himself on the pitch since he left Liverpool, and if he’d been great, Real Madrid wouldn’t be letting him go. I wouldn’t re-sign him if I was making the decisions at Liverpool.”
Those words cut to the heart of the issue on Merseyside: this is not just about tactics or squad depth. It is about trust, timing and whether the Alexander-Arnold who left is the same one being linked back.
Madrid, though, are not openly pushing him towards the exit. Spanish outlet AS reported earlier this month that returning head coach Jose Mourinho wants the club to keep Alexander-Arnold. Mourinho believes he can revive the defender’s influence as a deep-lying playmaker despite last season’s subdued form, backing his own track record of squeezing big performances out of players under pressure.
While Liverpool weigh up their options and Mourinho plots his back-line, another heavyweight name has entered the conversation from a very different angle.
Earlier this summer, former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia floated the idea of Alexander-Arnold crossing one of English football’s fiercest divides.
“Trent is a player I like a lot,” Valencia said. “He has a very good right foot, he crosses well, and he is a player who defends well.
“He would be very good for Manchester United. He knows the Premier League. He knows what it means to win the Champions League and the Premier League.
“He is a passionate player, and I would like to see him at Manchester United.
“Hopefully it could happen, because we need players like that at Old Trafford. To play at that stadium, you need people with a lot of personality.
“Manchester always have to renew the squad, and this is a team that we hope can have a good Premier League season and win it.
“But in terms of a right-back… I just hope that whoever comes in can be the best possible option. And I hope [Diogo] Dalot does not leave, of course.”
The idea of a boyhood Liverpool fan and former Kop favourite turning out at Old Trafford feels almost unthinkable, even in an era when loyalty lines blur more than ever. The rivalry between United and Liverpool still carries a weight that makes such a move extremely hard to imagine.
So Alexander-Arnold finds himself in a curious position. One of Europe’s biggest clubs wants to keep him. A former Liverpool right-back is adamant his old side should stay away. A United legend is publicly inviting him to Old Trafford.
The next step will say plenty about where his career – and his relationship with Liverpool – really stands.
