LIVERPOOL are £100,000-a-week short of convincing Trent Alexander-Arnold to sign a new five-year contract.
Anfield chiefs have offered the England full-back a £70,000 increase on his current £180,000 weekly wage.
But Alexander-Arnold is waiting for £350,000 to match the contract of another of the Prem leaders' contract rebels, Mohamed Salah.
TAA's contract expires this summer and he knows Real Madrid are waiting to give him what he wants.
Like Salah and skipper Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold can hold talks with interested foreign parties next month.
TAA has told close friends he would like to stay, especially as he is now based in a £5million Cheshire mansion.
Liverpool's vice-skipper also has a new girlfriend in Estelle Behnke.
Yet SunSport understands he is determined to get what he thinks he is worth – and what Spanish giants Real are willing to pay him.
He said last week: “I have been at the club for 20 years and have signed four or five contract extensions.
“None of them have been played in public. This one won't be either.”
Meanwhile, Van Dijk, 33, has been given a new contract in the club's bid to keep hold of their star defender beyond June when his current deal expires.
However, the Merseysiders' proposal reportedly fell short of the centre-back's expectations and so far there has been no breakthrough on the value or length of an extension.
The Reds have also taken 'concrete steps' in contract negotiations with 32-year-old Salah.
The winger's future has taken priority among fans and media, but he has dropped several hints that his eight-year spell at Anfield may be coming to an end.
Last month, the Egypt international told Sky Sports that “no offer” had been made to extend his stay.
So far the club's owners, FSG, have refused to bow to Salah's wage demands and he knows mega money would be for sale in Saudi Arabia.
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