By: Chris Lewnau

TAA To Madrid

MADRID — A day after Kylian Mbappe was presented as Real Madrid’s newest Galactico, news broke Wednesday morning that Real has set its sights on another star signing this summer. According to Bild journalist Christian Falk, Madrid President Florentino Perez and and his staff have been in contact with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold over a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

TAA's current contract at Liverpool expires after this upcoming 2024-25 season, and with Jurgen Klopp having recently retired from managing LFC, it could be the perfect time for TAA to call time in Merseyside as well.

In addition, it’s worth noting that despite Arne Slot — Liverpool’s new manager — having been at the helm for roughly two months, he clearly hasn’t made re-signing TAA a priority, which speaks volumes.

One reason for this could be that Slot favors youngster Connor Bradley, moving forward. Bradley (21) burst onto the scene during the 2023-24 campaign, whilst filling the void for the injured TAA. Bradley is sounder defensively than TAA, and although Bradley doesn’t have the wondrous right leg that TAA possesses, the U-23 Liverpudlian still offers quite a bit moving forward down the right flank.

As for Madrid, if you take a minute to think about it, the timing is right for Real to reinforce the right back position. Yes, Dani Carvajal is still more than capable, as indicative of his superb performance at Euro 2024. However, the former RM Castilla graduate is getting a little long in the tooth, so to speak. Carvajal will turn 33 in January, which is midway through this upcoming campaign. Thus, a move for TAA — he turns 26 in October — will ensure the right flank is under elite care for the present and future.

Also, financially speaking, the timing of this move would benefit both clubs. As aforementioned, with just one year left on TAA’s deal, Real Madrid would be able to purchase the England international on the relative cheap. Meanwhile, Liverpool will still earn a tidy sum — which would boost the funding for Slot’s redesigned squad — for the sale of the club’s finest academy graduate seen in decades.

Now as for TAA, from a sporting and financial perspective, a move to Real Madrid would be a dream come true for any player, unless one prefers El Clasico rival Barcelona. The King’s club is regarded as football’s pinnacle team, as indicative of Madrid’s record 15 Champions League and 36 La Liga titles. In addition, between wages and likely increased off-field opportunities that come with playing for Real, the Englishman would most assuredly deepen his monetary pockets. Lastly, Trent would be able to play with his Three Lions teammate Jude Bellingham, as well as other Galacticos such as Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, Aurilien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, and so on. Therefore, this seems like a no-brainer for TAA to move to Madrid.