Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB) Real Madrid

Rumour Mill
605

He is a right back and although his skillset is unique, paying him above $300K will open the floodgates for other players who contribute just as much.

I think someone mentioned on redmenTV, his importance to the team, is he above Alisson, Virg, Mo, Gravenberch, Macallister, Diaz, Gakpo in his performances this year and our best Right back performance of the year has been from Connor.

$300k is a fair wage for a fullback and at that level it is taking into account his ability to unlock a defence with one pass.

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606

Also, Ibou is up for a new deal and Diaz how much do we pay them as both have been performing above Trent this season. IMO

607

The point is well made over the potential implication of paying Trent that much money. It will pull all the other contracts up. If £300k pw is true,the club has extended itself and should not be criticized. Now it’s over to Trent. If we have offered him that and he still decides to leave, so be it.

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608

I think that’s where there is a difference between perhaps where fans see him, where the clubs see him, and where he and his team see him.

You can make that argument that he hasn’t contributed that much this year (although I would caution that it’s probably with the lens of what he has done in the past, and what his standards have been like, which in itself says a lot), but the bigger question is, in terms of value to the team, what is his value? His people will argue that his status as “the Scouser in the team” (poor Jones and Quansah), his leadership role (which was probably not given just on the basis of his being Scouse), and his age (not likely to be many more revaluations/extensions), make him a compelling candidate to take over as the top rung in the wage structure.

That’s also probably why it was always going to be hard to get all 3 done simultaneously because they’d be benchmarking each other.

As for Konaté and Díaz, I think your wording would reveal the most obvious answer: they simply haven’t been performing at his level as long as he has.

Konaté has injuries count against him, with only 108 appearances in his time with us, in contrast, Alexander-Arnold had 94 appearances in the former’s first two seasons alone, with a whopping 154 across the same time period. He’s great when he plays, although I’d argue that given all the expectations around Alexander-Arnold, especially given that he’s set those standards and expectations himself, he actually does have the larger contribution even just comparing the occasions when they actually do play.

Díaz has been great and is a favourite, but it’s also telling that he’s been praised for adding goal contributions to his game this season, because he simply hasn’t delivered those as much as we would have liked in the last few seasons. 8 goals and 5 assists in 37 league games across 2646 minutes last season, or 203 minutes per goal contribution. 4 goals 2 assists in 17 league games/997 minutes or 166 minutes per goal contribution in 2022-23. 4 goals 3 assists in 13 league games/963 minutes in his first (half season) with us, which was 138 minutes per goal contribution. In contrast, Mané’s entire career contribution for us was 133 minutes per goal contribution, a rate he delivered rather consistently on.

So it’s certainly justifiable that he gets a better deal than them. Will it be acceptable to all parties? I don’t know.

609

I honestly doubt anyone in the squad would use Trent as an example to get a better deal in the next 1-2 years. He’s been here forever and is one of the best in his position for 8 years.

I would be more worried that players like Ibou and Diaz would look at Trent and decide to leave in the same way - at your peak and on a free transfer.

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610

So what do you pay Ibou and Diaz are they 2/3rds the player?

I love Trent as a player and his passing is a dream, defensively so-so, better this year.

611

Under Klopp Trents value was higher, inder Slot not as much die to style of play and build up.

Also, you can’t just rely on what they’ve done it is the value in the moment to consider as well.

$300k is a very good offer for a Right back and normally ‘the scouser in the team’ is paid less because they should be just happy playing for the club :wink:

612

I think it’s debatable. He’s not as immediately obvious, perhaps, but I think he has been quite vital too nonetheless.

The point about what they have done is what they can offer going forward. Is Díaz in a purple patch, or has he simply taken his game to the next level? Is Konaté’s latest injury unfortunate, or is it a reflection of some deeper consideration about his body/playing style?

Alexander-Arnold has had a pretty good injury record in addition to being rather consistent, with his bad days often still being more than acceptable for a top right-back.

Of course, that’s one view of it, but his team will argue that he’s a generational player, and that being “the Scouser in the team” is valuable to the club for marketing reasons.

Do I think he’s worth it? I don’t know, but thankfully, I’m not the one who has to make that decision. I just think it’s not as simple nor black and white as so many make it out to be. I do think though the current situation is exactly what I would expect to pan out no matter whether he has his heart set on us and doesn’t even think about Real Madrid, or whether he definitely wants to leave and can’t wait to get away. Given the interests of the various parties in this situation, it really is the only logical outcome at the moment. There will probably a lot more rumours until he signs a contract somewhere, mostly bullshit. It would be folly to pay too much attention to them, but then again because fans do that, that’s why it works.

613

I am just someone that doesn’t really care who stays or goes, as long as whilst they are with us they give their all.

On the injury note, Trent, the last 2 seasons has had a couple of hamstring injuries, which can become an ongoing problem, the same can be said for Connor. So loke Connor his games need to be managed.

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614

Of course it might just be recency bias, but it makes me wonder if that’s a club-wide issue not just player-specific. I’m pretty sure Gomez’s current injury is also hamstring, was Alisson’s one too?

Given the recent track record of the club, I think we can safely say if someone departs, we mostly won’t regret it. So I’m really at peace. Even if he wants to go, we will somehow unearth another gem.

615

diaz is on £55k a week - we owe him a much better deal - even £150k would be cheaper than most players and the players contract is trebled

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616

Poor kid, must’ve had an awful Christmas.
Imagine having to survive on £1.5m a year after tax.

Puts Alexander Arnold’s demands into perspective

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617

If players see out their contracts rather contently and leave on a free then so be it.

I don’t believe Edwards and co haven’t done their calculations regarding costs, risk and reward (of extensions vs new transfers). I’m rather curious about it because it means most of us don’t have the foggiest idea of some of the biggest cost drivers as I’m sure they wouldn’t allow so many contracts to run down if it weren’t financially in the club’s interest.

I would tend to agree that TAA is not worth 350k. But heck, I’m not privy to the analysis and whatever model they are using has worked so far. If they decide to go find a new RB… I trust them to do so. If they think TAA is worth 350k, then I think they have earned our trust too in that regards.

We had a youngster step in and did not miss a beat which likely means we can find a different type of solution for less. We are a club that makes world-class players (so I’m relatively relaxed about this) and the other contract negotiations.

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618

I doubt that he is recieving that little.

Eother way, there have been a number of stories in the media (which i havent read) suggesting that he has already been offered much better terms but is either wanting more than that being offered, or is trying to get a move.

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619

In your opinion.

620

How does anyone know what the players earn? Are the wages published somewhere?

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621

They’re heavily structured here (and not only here), but some sort of basis can be verified through a few sources, yeah. We can get a general idea. It’s not top secret.

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622

He’s not.

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623

Some ‘sources’ like Spotrac publish figures but these are woefully innaccurate. Like @Zoran says you have to piece together bits of info from reliable articles to get a general feel for what is being paid. For example when Hendo was getting a new contract there was a lot of talk about the pay bands at the club.

But just like transfer fees these still have to be taken with a pinch of salt as those disclosing info to journalists may want to present a lower or higher figure for their own purposes. Its not always clear too whether the figure given will be base only or after add ons etc.

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