Sir Kenny Dalglish has had his say on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future ahead of his Liverpool contract expiring this summer
Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish and Reds vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold(Image: Getty Images)
Sir Kenny Dalglish has hinted that Trent Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool this summer, urging supporters to respect his decision if he does move on. The Reds vice-captain is out of contract and expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
The England international was initially booed by some supporters when making his comeback from injury against Leicester City earlier this month, only for such a reaction to be quickly forgotten minutes later as he scored the winner to leave Liverpool on the cusp of winning the title.
Then helping the Reds win the Premier League on Sunday by thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 5-1, Alexander-Arnold was given a hero’s reception by supporters during the post-match celebrations.
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While Dalglish was delighted to see Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah both renew their contracts with the club, the Liverpool legend – who is also a non-executive director at the club – he paid tribute to Alexander-Arnold as he pointed out it’s rare for players to stay at one club for the entirety of their careers.
“Movement within football clubs, players moving about is just part of the game,” he said. “And the longer you can keep the better ones, the better chance we have of being successful.
“That’s what they’ve done there with the two boys (Van Dijk and Salah). The fans are delighted they’ve signed.
“And we’ve got to be grateful also for the service that Trent gave to the football club.
“If his choice is to move on, then Trent, thanks very much for everything you’ve done for us. We wish you well for the future because he has made a contribution to the football club.
“I only got to Liverpool through them buying me from Celtic so you’ve got to accept that transfers are part and parcel of it.
“It’s a compliment to people. If somebody gets moved on that hasn’t done so well, they don’t get mentioned, do they?
“So the people that have done really well are the ones who people say, ‘Well why do they want to move?’ Most people move!
“It’s very seldom now that you get one person who stays at one club for the length of his career.”
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Meanwhile, Dalglish also singled out five unsung heroes in Liverpool’s squad for special praise after seeing the Reds win the Premier League title.
“(Wataru) Endo, Endo was coming on at the end of some games and just closing the door,” he said. “Everybody that was in the squad, I think they earned the place to be there.
“The young players like Curtis (Jones) – went in against Everton, played right-back and did very well. Harvey Elliott did really well when he was given the opportunities to play.
“(Conor) Bradley did really well at right-back when he had to fill in. I think the youngsters played a part in it as well.
“I think everybody’s obviously played a part – (Caoimhin) Kelleher coming in, stepping in when he had to and did fantastic. I think he’s a really good goalkeeper so everybody made a contribution.”
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However, Dalglish did tease he was disappointed with one thing during Liverpool’s season so far – that Joe Gomez still had not opened his goalscoring account for the club!
“The only thing they could be disappointed with is Joe Gomez as he’s yet to score his goal!” he joked on Anfield Index’s ‘The King and AI podcast’. “I’d love to be at Anfield to see Joe score his goal!
“But he made a contribution throughout the season as well, coming in defensively either at full-back or centre-back.
“Everybody chipped in and that’s why you get the success because they’re singing from the same hymn sheet and everybody got on with it.”