Liverpool is confronted with the prospect of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of the season during a free transfer as Real Madrid-Opmars in conversations about a movement to take him to the Bernabeu.
Liverpool tried to bind the 26-year-old Academy graduate to a new, long-term contract at Anfield, but he has rejected their proposals and informed them about his intention to leave when his deal ends at the end of the campaign.
Alexander-Arnold has made 349 performances for his Boyhood Club since he made his senior debut in 2016, developed one of the most effective game makers of the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp and play a key role in their title statement under Arne Slot.
How big would the Exit of Alexander-Arnold be? How are figures on compared to the other top makers of the Premier League? And how on earth would Liverpool replace him?
The creative king of Liverpool
The extraordinary contribution of Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool has re-defined the expectations around full-backs. He is the most important playmaker of the party and the hub where the team is running. Although he is nominal a defender, he has collected creative figures to match No. 10.
Since his Premier League debut in December 2016, Alexander-Arnold has even created the second most chances of each Premier League player, behind only Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City.
Alexander-Arnold's total of 514 opportunities created in that time frame is 22 percent higher than all other defender, with his teammate of Liverpool Andrew Robertson on the following on 421 opportunities. Then it is Lucas Dignne, formerly from Everton and now from Aston Villa, at 330.
A deeper look at the numbers underlines the width of his creativity.
He has not collected such a large number of opportunities that are simply an effective corner-tow, for example. Instead, a player who once told Sky Sports that he “can play every pass he can see” have demonstrated a rare capacity to create danger in all phases of playing.
Consider the fact that since the beginning of 2018/19 Alexander-Arnold is his first full campaign as Liverpool-Starter in sixth place among Premier League players for opportunities created by open game, in addition to third place for opportunities made of SET pieces.
At that time he made a total of 88 through, the seventh most among all Premier League players and almost four times as much as any other active defender.
His total of 63 assists in the same period, meanwhile, has now third place, behind only his teammate of Liverpool Mohamed Salah, who has 75, and De Bruyne at 74. His total total of 64 assists in the Premier League is the highest by every defender in the history of the competition.
However, assists are not the best reflection of the creativity of a player, since they depend on the finishing capacity of others. A better way to measure the true quality of the opportunities created is to use 'expected' assists, a metric that measures the chance of an opportunity that leads to a goal. The figures from Alexander-Arnold are unparalleled on that front.
Since the start of the 2018/19 season, he has collected a total of 58.67 XA, so he has top. As a defender, he is an incompatible presence in a list consisting of fantastic attacking midfielders and attackers, including De Bruyne, Salah and Bruno Fernandes.
Alexander-Arnold usually works in deeper areas than those players, albeit with a permit to stop in, but nobody is better when it comes to getting the ball in the opposition box.
In total, he has made 2,593 passes in the box since his Premier League debut, the most by each player and a different example of the remarkable scale of his attacking influence.
His excellent distribution is also not only a means to create opportunities. It is also invaluable in stretching opponents, something that encounters in his numbers for game switches.
His Pinpoint Cross-Field Passen are a trademark and have become an important feature of the approach to Liverpool. Since OPTA started recording the data in 2017/18, he has made 400 Play switches, which is almost twice as much as any other player. Brighton Center-back Lewis Dunk is the next at 236. It is just another characteristic to separate it.
Salah supply line, defensive questions
Alexander-Arnold is of course not the only one approaching the end of his contract in Liverpool. Virgil van Dijk and Salah are in the same position. If the latter has to stay, the club must find a way to replace the invaluable service provided by the player who operates right back behind him.
Over the years, Salah has benefited enormously from that stock line and the concept between the couple is mutual, with Alexander-Arnold recently describing the 32-year-old as his closest teammate.
“Just because of how long we have known each other and how long we played together, our band and connection, especially on the field,” he said. “Although we can do so often, we never moan to each other. We just know each other's playing style.”
The role of Alexander-Arnold to help the best in Salah shine in the figures.
Since he became teammates in 2017, Alexander-Arnold has created more chances for Salah in the Premier League than any other player, with 100. His total places him 13 free from the deceased sadio mane and is almost twice as high as any other current Liverpool player, with Robertson Next at 51.
Salah has undoubtedly been Liverpool's best performer this season, and indeed in many of his previous seasons in the club. But Alexander-Arnold has been an important facilitator who brings together their right side as a bridge between defense and attack. It is an example of how losing him, while a huge blow in itself, could have knock-on effects.
Not that his contribution is completely positive.
While Salah Alexander-Arnold is due for his service, Alexander-Arnold has come to rely on the support of his fellow defenders on the other side of the field.
His vision and passing skills are unparalleled, but his observed defensive weaknesses often make him a target for opponents.
Since his Premier League debut, he is even more than 100 times more than any other player, at 296, a statistics that emphasize his struggles in one-on-one defend.
Can Trent be replaced?
Although he may have his mistakes as a defender, Alexander-Arnold's Premier League career has so far shown his strengths much heavier than his weaknesses.
His extraordinary creative figures underline the immense challenge with which the club is confronted to replace it. In the Premier League, no defender has demonstrated the same attacking possibility with something like the same level of consistency.
His uniqueness is part of his appeal to Real Madrid.
Liverpool naturally has a capable alternative in the 21-year-old Conor Bradley, who has shown considerable potential in the past two seasons as a representative of Alexander-Arnold.
Bradley has made a total of 50 senior performances in all competitions. He performed particularly impressive during the absence of Alexander-Arnold with a knee injury in the second half of the last term.
But he is a very different kind of right back than Alexander-Arnold and although he offers offensive threat, he does not come close to the figures of his teammate in terms of casual creation.
On average, he is less than half of as many expected assists per 90 minutes as Alexander-Arnold, according to Opta, and completes a fraction just as much, even though it is a more explosive runner.
Bradley does not have the same ability to continue the ball with its steps, which means that a much lower percentage of fits forward than Alexander-Arnold. And although it offers more defensive firmness, it is worth mentioning, according to the above image, that it is still drunk by a relatively high speed per 90 minutes.
It is probably hard to assess a young player such as Bradley's attacking capacities according to the standards set by his colleague Liverpool Rechtsback. But that is the reality for Liverpool while they face his exit.
Finding a direct replacement for Alexander-Arnold is probably an impossible task. Instead, it can be a case of Hercalibration and reduce the loss of his enormous attacking contribution in other ways.
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