Liverpool Still Tracking Monaco Defender As Possible Replacement For Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool supporters face a nervous few weeks ahead as the club tries to tie down three of their biggest players to contract extensions.
Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract at the end of the season and could leave on free transfers if there is no breakthrough in negotiations with the trio.
The pressure is on the Anfield hierarchy to get this resolved before the end of the year. Otherwise, they will be free to speak to overseas clubs about their next moves.
In Alexander-Arnold's case, rumours persist that he could make the switch to join Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid despite Liverpool reportedly wanting to make him the highest-paid England player in the Premier League.
As uncertainty reins at Anfield, several contingency options are being looked at in case the 26-year-old does depart for the Spanish capital and according to Graeme Bailey, who was speaking to Rousing The Kop, Monaco's Brazilian international Vanderson could be on the radar to help Conor Bradley shoulder the workload under Arne Slot.
“They are 100 per cent doing their due diligence, Jeremie Frimpong is a player they like a lot, but so does most of Europe.
“I know they’ve checked on Vanderson, they are looking around and seeing what options are out there and they’ve done their work on him, they know he’s available."
Bailey also suggested that the Reds' interest in the 23-year-old is not new with them having looked at him before his €11million transfer from Gremio to the Ligue 1 outfit in January 2022.
“They were one of the clubs who looked at him before he arrived at Monaco, interestingly,”
“They decided not to go for him then, but he’s settled in well into European football and I certainly think he would be part of the conversation if Alexander-Arnold does leave and they do have to find someone to come in and help fill the void.”
The new sporting director at Liverpool, Richard Hughes, has been left in a tricky spot with three of Liverpool's biggest players with expiring contracts. The situation should be a lot clearer by the end of the year, and if not resolved by then, the risk of big-name departures will become a distinct possibility and contingency plans may well need to be executed.
Mature Liverpool Enthusiast. LFC Transfer Room contributor & writer since 2021.