Real Madrid have agreed a deal with Liverpool for the transfer of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Spain, and the right-back could offer Los Blancos new options in attack.
The Spanish giants are set for a summer of change, with boss Xabi Alonso having been appointed in place of Carlo Ancelotti.
Alonso has the task of restoring Real to winning ways after the club missed out on the Champions League and La Liga titles, with Barcelona winning the Spanish top flight and Arsenal eliminating Los Blancos from Europe in the quarter-final stage.
The former Bayer Leverkusen manager will be able to rely on the services of Alexander-Arnold from next season, and he will hope that the Englishman's technical quality can help push the Galacticos back to the pinnacle of domestic and European football.
Alexander-Arnold is renowned for his passing ability, but he has been criticised for his work without the ball, and here, Sports Mole looks into what Alonso can expect from the former Liverpool defender.
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Alexander-Arnold in possession
During his time with Liverpool, the right-back managed to rack up 85 assists and 21 goals in 348 appearances for the club, a remarkable tally considering he played in defence.
His 64 Premier League assists means no other defender in the history of the competition has set up more goals than him, and he only has 10 fewer top-flight assists than Thierry Henry.
No player in the Liverpool squad made more progressive passes than the 26-year-old (232) in the Premier League in 2024-25, while no player attempted more long passes (418).
There is an argument that Alexander-Arnold could in some ways help to replace Toni Kroos, as while he does not possess the German's temperament, he does have a similar ability to progress the ball from deep.
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Alexander-Arnold out of possession
Though the defender has been scrutinised for his defensive performances, he ranked third in the Liverpool squad for tackles per 90 (1.9) and no player attempted more challenges (105) in the top flight.
However, Alexander-Arnold only won 18.8% of his aerial duels in the Premier League last term, the worst percentage among Reds players to have played at least 110 minutes.
The defender is also prone to being beaten by wide players, with winger Jeremy Doku dribbling past the Englishman 12 times in Liverpool's clash with Manchester City in February, setting a new single-game Premier League record.
Perhaps Alonso can mitigate Alexander-Arnold's defensive weaknesses by fielding him as a right wing-back, a position that would arguably free him of some of his responsibilities at the back.
Lewis Nolan
