I SEE that Trent Alexander-Arnold woke up and smelled the coffee. That's why I see him saying goodbye to Liverpool this summer and signing for Real Madrid.
If it were me and I felt like going out for a coffee or a cup of tea after training, I'd rather do it in Spain than Liverpool. Most would.
No disrespect, because it's a great club and a vibrant city, but there's just something magical about Madrid. So you see the appeal of a world-class right-back.
Trent's dream is probably to play for Real Madrid and he will have seen friend Jude Bellingham do the same last year.
Bellingham could have gone from Borussia Dortmund to any Premier League club he wanted, but the magnetism of the Bernabéu is irresistible.
Of course, my coffee analogy seems trivial, but there is so much that goes into making a big move.
Liverpool is a special club, but you have to remember that he has cost them nothing, they have served as a former youth player for many years and now it is time to embark on a new adventure.
Sometimes you can get old and maybe it's time for him to play great football at another great club.
Now that his contract expires this summer, there is also serious money to be made.
It's similar but not quite the same for Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Alexander-Arnold is 26 years old, the others are in their early thirties. Salah in particular may be eyeing one last big payday by playing in Saudi Arabia.
And for a young man like Alexander-Arnold, this is the chance to reach for the stars, to play with a team of world-class professionals, make some serious money and win some serious trophies.
Liverpool are a big draw and Trent is a born and bred Scouser, but nothing rivals Madrid.
Reds icon Steve McManaman walked the same path many years ago and I don't think he regrets it.
The chance to be Real Madrid's next right-back for five or six years is a dream and Trent can absolutely be that player for them.
Liverpool have placed him in both midfield and full-back, but while I see him as a world-class defender, he is not a world-class midfielder.
There should be no discussion about where he plays. At the European Championship, England tried to move him to mid-table and some games passed him by.
Midfielders are a different breed, you have to have fantastic awareness to play there.
As a right back you see the whole picture. It's different. From there, he's a great passer.
He must hold on to his strengths and become the best right-back in Europe at Real.
And it's not like Liverpool will be left dry if he leaves, as there is an energetic, young replacement waiting in the wings in Conor Bradley, who will fill that void.
Another homegrown product, I particularly like Bradley's pace – and so comes the next great Liverpool player.
We also have to admit that the era of the great one-clubman is pretty much dead as well.
Liverpool have had more than their fair share of loyal players, including Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.
Go back further and there were others, but the way the game is now – as well as the money on offer, the ease of travel and communication and the like – makes it easier to go play abroad.
Cross-border transfers and the Bosman ruling have opened up a whole new world for players and you really can't begrudge them wanting to experience it.
Keep it simple
WHY do all goalkeepers nowadays think they are Pele?
Sorry . . . I mean, why do all managers think their goalkeepers are Pele?
And I say this after watching Spurs struggle through Thursday's Carabao Cup quarter-final with Manchester United.
My old team played well, but what is this obsession with playing the ball from the back every time? It's gone crazy.
Every coach wants to be Pep Guardiola, even if they don't have the talent of his Manchester City team.
If you look at it, the ball goes from the right back to the goalkeeper, to the left back, back again, and then they give the ball away.
And teams put themselves under unnecessary pressure when it sometimes suits them to just start on the field.
No disrespect to Spurs keeper Fraser Forster, he's a good player but he's not a footballer; he is a goalkeeper.
You have a big striker there in Dominic Solanke, who is great in the air, and I would like to see the ball go to him to get the win.
As a manager, the last thing I wanted was for my centre-backs to get the ball out.
They all had their skills and dribbling was not one of them.
Unfortunately it's gone crazy and it's so stupid. Our teams just can't do it.
They're not good enough for that because they give the ball away.
RIP, Oscar Scholarships
I was so sad to read about the young West Ham goalkeeper who sadly passed away this past week.
We all worry about trivial things and then football and a family loses their son to cancer when he had the world at his feet.
I don't know Oscar Fairs or his family, but I would really like to send them my condolences and love at what must be a terrible time.
A Christmas message
Christmas is just around the corner and at my age it's hard to know what to ask Santa.
All I can tell you is that I have a lot of socks – probably more than the England kit man!
Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year.
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