Could Liverpool really bring Trent Alexander-Arnold back to Anfield?

Robin Bairner

• 29 Jan 2026 08:02 GMT
• 5 min read

Analysis

Could Liverpool call upon Trent Alexander-Arnold to return to Anfield given the right-back crisis facing Arne Slot’s side?

Slot has known his share of problems during his second season with the Reds, but while the loss of Alexander Isak to serious injury and the fallout with Mohamed Salah have caught the headlines, Jeremie Frimpong’s latest blow threatens to undermine their work most.

This latest blow has exposed a lack of depth right-back just days before the end of the transfer window.

Current ETV

Trent Alexander-Arnold 

D (R)

Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold 

D (R)

Real Madrid

€67.6M

ETV Range

€60.8M - €74.3M

View full profile

While the nature of the Netherlands international’s injury, which was sustained against Qarabag, has not been made clear, there are fears that he faces a prolonged period on the sidelines. With Conor Bradley already out for the season, the Reds face a clear shortage on the right side of their defence.

Could there be a solution to bring Trent back to Anfield as a solution?

Trent’s difficult period

Alexander-Arnold is, of course, a thorny subject in Liverpool now. After leaving the club last summer to join Real Madrid in a deal worth €10 million, things have not gone according to plan for the England international.

He has been riddled with injury issues and Arvalo Arbeloa has reportedly told him that he is not in his plans. Veteran Dani Carvajal is the coach’s preference.

But if the hatchet can be buried, there’s scope for a successful partnership.

Trent is still an ideal option for Liverpool

Trent remains a perfect fit for the right-hand side of Liverpool’s defence, according to data analysis firm SciSports, which ranks clubs on a variety of factors and gives each a Club Fit score. The higher this score, the greater the likelihood of them fitting in.

Liverpool earn a Club Fit score of 83 for the 27-year-old, showing that he would be a very valuable signing.

The only area in which he is marked down is playing time, though obviously with Frimpong and Bradley likely to be missing for the foreseeable future, this does not apply.

Slot urges smart decisions

Slot was asked directly after the Qarabag game if Liverpool would dip into the transfer market for a right-back given the situation.

He was not asked directly about Alexander-Arnold but replied: “We as a club always make smart decisions. We not only look at the short-term but the long-term.

“It always depends on if there are players that are available that we think can help us. If they are, can we afford them.”

Would Real Madrid really let him go?

Little over six months into Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid adventure, it’s clear that things have not gone as smoothly as he might have wished, yet it would still represent an embarrassing U-turn if he were to return to Liverpool so rapidly after leaving.

From Trent’s perspective, the home comforts of Liverpool may look appealing but are equally complicated by the optics of such a swift reversal.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, do have a more motivation to cut their losses. For a start, Trent was only signed for €10m while his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits at €67.6m. A sale would mean a massive profit.

If an unlikely deal is to be struck, a loan looks the likeliest formula, but Los Blancos equally lack depth beyond Carvajal.

With Liverpool struggling to find an alternate right-back, Real Madrid would therefore be left in a similar position, rending an already unlikely deal seemingly impossible.

Don’t discount Trent returning to Liverpool one day, but while he would be a smart option to solve Slot’s injury emergency, it’s a deal that does not seem plausible for the moment.

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