Carvajal tore his ACL last night. We better get TAA’s contract sorted quick.
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Even if he goes, it won’t be until the summer.
Not necessarily. With Carvajal out of action, Madrid may make him a priority. If he decides he wants to go, there’s nothing stopping the club from accepting a bid for him in the winter transfer window rather than losing him for nothing in the summer.
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That bid would have to be huge and we’d have to have a replacement lined up. Can’t see us going half a season with Bradley and Gomez as RB options.
Unless it’s a 50m+ bid and Liverpool know that Trent is going to leave on a free , don’t see Liverpool accepting that.
That said , there should be movement on his contract discussions during the international break.
I have to admit that I’m not impressed with Trent’s season - maybe I expect too much from, maybe he still hasn’t got the last two seasons out of his system, maybe the contract situation is playing on his mind. On this form, he’d be the next Real Madrid player to see their fans turn against him.
I still desperately want him to extend his Liverpool contract and return to his marauding best, though. It’d be sickening to see him leave for Real Madrid, free transfer would only add insult to injury.
Is there not a chance that this is simply what he’s meant to be doing under Arne?
If it’s a shit bid Liverpool won’t consider it.
I’m one of those who wouldn’t be massively disappointed with Bradley becoming our first team RB.
But I’m probably in a group of one.
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‘Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone’
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Bradley’s been good in flashes, but nowhere near Trent offensively.
He may well come good, but I wouldn’t like him to be our only RB option.
To be honest, I have the feeling that certain players (including Trent) still haven’t got Klopp’s tactical instructions and style of football out of their system - which is understandable but, again, I expect more from Trent (probably because I think that he’s the kind of player who is actually better suited to Slot’s possession-oriented football).
What “helps me” deal with this situation is the fact that I somehow felt he would at least consider this at some stage (and not too late, because he already accomplished some things quite young - made him hungrier I think to have more of that success) in his career, probably when Klopp is gone and he’s interested to see Liverpool’s direction, are we still battling for and winning trophies. It’s just normal for a player of that level.
He always spoke about that ambition in general. His last contract extension wasn’t too long. And when he had 2 (which is when you really have to start solving the contract issue, because later might be too late) and less than 2 years left on his deal, we had some problematic times on the pitch. In that time, I felt it would be only normal to have a talk with his agent and see what’s cooking out there, with him getting past that 2 years left on his deal mark.
For me, he can still want to be at Liverpool ideally and win stuff, become our next captain and what else. But that doesn’t exclude some other targets and possibilities as well. It’s not black or white.
I will not be surprised if in his mind calculating, looking at the next few years of his career which “should” be his peak, he’s seduced by accepting Real’s offer if there is or there will be one. That’s also a valid question for them, how do they build a “new defence” let’s say. They will certainly need a few in the next transfer windows. Do they go for a Galactico move like going for both Trent and Davies, can they even afford that, or they have to prioritize.
I don’t think he needs to be afraid of the pressure there (and I don’t think he will be), Real perhaps not adjusting certain things tactically to suit him. He’s not a kid, he doesn’t have to be afraid of these things. Plus, with the likes of Militao at RCB and Valverde as arguably the world’s most dynamic (and they have one or two more of similar ilk) and best box-to-box midfielder, Rodrygo also being a versatile and responsible player, he actually does have team mates close to him that would help him.
Sure, there is high pressure day to day, expectancy to win everything every season (but that’s what these guys want), their media can be horrible also. But it’s also not Real from the early 00’s when they sell a Makelele and field a totally inabalanced midfield like Figo-Beckham-Guti-Zidane (and lose easily 4-0 at the Camp Nou, just to give an example). They’ve learned some lessons over the years and decades.
Going to Real shouldn’t be daunting, they’re the world’s biggest club. And in theory failing at Real shouldn’t be the end of the world either. A player like that can always remain in touch with Liverpool over a potential return and there are other clubs as well.
On Bradley, I like the kid, but I think he wasn’t very good in the bits and bobs (mostly defensively) he got so far this season. There is potential to be better. Could he replace Trent immediately? Possible, but also difficult, might be too early for that. Would need either competition or a bit more experience as well. That is not called Joe Gomez.
We’ll see what happens, it’s just important to remind ourselves in these situations that nobody is bigger than the club. Trent most probably started thinking about this possibility way before Slot, Edwards’ return, Hughes, etc.
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An excellent, balanced post.
You’re clearly on the wrong forum.
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I’d argue the opposite - it should be daunting because their expectations are always the highest possible and only players of a certain mindset can make it there. You remember the treatment Modrić got there in his first season and the way he responded to it over the course of his Real Madrid career.
Does Trent have it? Mentality is probably there but on the form of last two seasons or so, for me he doesn’t deserve to be in the conversation for a starting spot at Real Madrid or Man City, two best clubs in that period.
I think that period of transition both on and off the pitch at Liverpool has hurt his form and, like you said, probably influenced his thinking about his future. Also, all people have an ego, so maybe he’s thinking “if they value me, how come they didn’t offer me a better contract sooner”.
I never feel optimistic but I have this rotten feeling about contract extensions of Trent, Van Dijk and Salah. Whatever happens there, I just hope that the club will learn a lesson and that they will not let this team transition into a rich man’s Borussia Dortmund (as much as I respect them, they don’t have the leadership to turn the club into a consistent title contender and not just a top four contender).
Players still want to go there, in modern times especially, Real Madrid are the final destination for many of them.
I think cases what Modric and other players had, it’s nothing that bad really, that would make Real Madrid so repulsive to the likes of today’s Bellingham, Trent or whoever’s next. He wasn’t great. They used Modric a little bit too high on the pitch, trying to replace Ozil with him and then he finally found his foot when Carlo played Alonso, Modric and Di Maria in that 4-3-3 structure. And then new levels from around 2016 or so (peaking on all fronts in 2018), when Casemiro added what was missing, so both Modric and Kroos could control games.
Like you said, if you’re strong enough, you probably just accept that it’s every day life at Real Madrid. And the willingness to be there and win things overshadows the odd boos from the Bernabeu, media critics over the tiniest little things or whatever. I think mentally, Trent could cope with it.
Style and form is another thing, yeah. We can discuss objectivelly whether from Real’s point of view, it’s the right move. But surely, the potential of getting Trent on a free (of course he wouldn’t really be free for them, signing on fee, etc.), it’s got to be high on their list. Among the first 3 options.
Also, we know from some of our examples, a player doesn’t need to be impressive all the time at another club, before he comes here and potentially does even better. They just won a few big trophies with Rudiger and Alaba at CB. Not really moves that you’d call so obvious at the time when Real were getting them (and it’s another question whether going for a post-peak Alaba was worth it).
Stuff happens sometimes and it’s down to a number of different reasons, at different times. I was interested whether we could build a totally new side under Klopp and the people above him at the time, we almost did. But some key unanswered questions remained. And right now it’s those 3.
10/10 for reasoning/logic, 0/10 for knee-jerking, overall 0/10 for TAN.
I think only Trent could simultaneously be criticized for us giving up a chance that came as a result of him actually winning a 50-50 in the opposition half and just being unlucky with the bounce of the ball while also being deemed attractive enough that not only will Real be interested in him, but would be willing to big spend money on him in January when by that time they could start negotiations with him to get him for free in the summer.
Don’t forget Salah is shite, not doing anything for a few matches now, and yet simultaneously the club would be idiots for not giving in to his demands and giving him all he wants…
It wasn’t a 50-50 ball and he didn’t get unlucky with the bounce of the ball. He tried to intercept a pass, but his first touch was poor.
He made an avoidable mistake which almost cost us a goal. Pointing it out doesn’t mean that he isn’t world class and one of the best in his position.
Difference of opinion and all that, but that’s a take I just cannot get my head around. He made a defensive play and couldn’t retain possession of it. Trying to present that as being sloppy in possession in a way to crticize him is wild stuff that simply doesnt get raised unless its about a player people are already comfortable throwing daggers at.