Trent Alexander-Arnold's Future: Liverpool Reunion or Manchester United Move?

Glen Johnson has warned Liverpool against a dramatic reunion with Trent Alexander-Arnold, insisting the club should resist the temptation to bring him back from Real Madrid just a year after his acrimonious exit.

The right-back’s Anfield departure at the end of the 2024-25 season stunned the fanbase. With his contract ticking down towards a June 2025 expiry, Liverpool put several lucrative offers on the table. Alexander-Arnold delayed, weighed up his options and, in the eyes of many supporters, dragged the saga out.

On May 30, 2025, the story ended in a way few on Merseyside wanted to imagine. Real Madrid paid €10million (£8.5m) to buy him out of the final year of his deal, fast-tracking his arrival ahead of the Club World Cup. For a local lad who had spoken openly about dreaming of the captain’s armband, the move cut deep.

Plenty of Liverpool fans felt betrayed. They believed he had allowed the club to be backed into a corner, only to walk away for a modest fee after months of uncertainty.

The twist? The dream move has quickly lost its shine.

Alexander-Arnold’s first season at the Bernabeu was underwhelming. The adventurous, deep-lying playmaker who once dictated games from right-back struggled to impose himself in Madrid white. This summer, the Spanish giants have gone into the market and signed Denzel Dumfries, a clear statement that the England international’s starting place is no longer guaranteed.

That combination of poor form and new competition has sparked talk of an early exit. Liverpool’s name has inevitably re-entered the conversation, especially with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both coming off injury-hit campaigns.

Johnson, another former Liverpool right-back, is not convinced a romantic return would work.

“I’m not sure how the fans would receive that move,” he 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.”

It is a blunt assessment, and it cuts to the heart of the debate around Alexander-Arnold now. Is Liverpool’s former talismanic right-back still the game-changing force he once was, or a fading version of that player, weighed down by expectation and the glare of Madrid?

Inside the Bernabeu, the view appears more nuanced. Spanish outlet AS reported earlier this month that returning head coach Jose Mourinho wants to keep Alexander-Arnold. The Portuguese manager, back in charge of Real Madrid, is said to believe he can revive the 27-year-old’s form and unlock the quarterback-style passing that made him such a unique weapon at Anfield.

Mourinho’s stance offers a lifeline. It suggests Madrid do not see Alexander-Arnold as a simple expendable asset, even with Dumfries arriving to push him.

The defender’s profile, though, continues to attract admiring glances from elsewhere in England.

Earlier this summer, former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia floated the idea of a stunning move to Old Trafford. His comments were striking, not least because of the ferocity of the rivalry between United and Liverpool.

“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 prospect of Alexander-Arnold in United colours feels almost unthinkable given his Liverpool roots and the animosity between the two clubs. The political and emotional cost of such a transfer would be enormous, for player and fans alike.

So the picture is complicated. A local hero who left under a cloud. A new life in Madrid that has yet to catch fire. A former Liverpool defender urging the club to move on. A returning Real Madrid coach determined to keep him. And a rival giant watching from afar.

For Alexander-Arnold, the next move will define how his peak years are remembered. Does he fight for his place at the Bernabeu, attempt to rebuild bridges at Anfield, or rip up the script entirely and walk into the eye of the storm in Manchester?