Real Madrid 'confident' of signing Trent Alexander-Arnold in January following bombshell update

Real Madrid are confident of signing Trent Alexander-Arnold in January, it has been claimed.

Liverpool moved seven points clear at the Premier League summit on Boxing Day, after overturning a one-goal deficit to claim a 3-1 victory over Leicester City.

Indeed, while the Reds are thriving in Arne Slot’s first season at the helm, the contract situation of Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk has been a subplot of the campaign.

The three are out of contract at the end of the season, and no new deal has yet been agreed upon for any of them.

And according to Relevo journalist Javier Rodríguez Pascua, La Liga giants Real have informed Liverpool that they intend to negotiate a free agent deal with Alexander-Arnold in January and are “confident” of securing the player’s signature.

The Athletic, meanwhile, has claimed that there is “optimism” at Real about the England international’s arrival, though a transfer would only be feasible in the summer.

Los Blancos have long been thought to be interested in Alexander-Arnold, and an ACL tear to first-choice Dani Carvajal has left them without a fit, recognised full-back.

Given the defender is entering the final six months of his Liverpool deal, he will be permitted to sign a ‘pre-contract’ with potential suitors from January 1.

Alexander-Arnold and Salah are both out of contract at the end of the season (Getty)

Slot deflected questions on Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold's contracts after Liverpool’s encounter with Leicester, instead providing an overview of their performances and suggesting there was room for improvement for the latter.

“We don’t talk about contracts in public,” Slot told Amazon Prime Video.

“This is something for the players and Richard [Hughes, Liverpool sporting director]. It’s not up to me to talk about those situations in public.

“It’s clear that Mo again had a good game. Virgil had a very good game. Trent for most parts was really good, [with] one or two exceptions. But especially second half, he was really good.

“That we can talk about, not about the contracts.”