Trent Alexander-Arnold is not to blame for leaving boyhood club Liverpool, former midfielder Danny Murphy has argued.

The right-back is set to seal a lucrative move to Real Madrid when his Reds contract expires in the summer.

Some Liverpool fans have wondered whether Alexander-Arnold might have extended his contract, only to guarantee the club a transfer fee from his future sale.



Murphy has blamed Liverpool for allowing the situation to develop, with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk’s deals also due to expire at the end of June.

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“Trent Alexander-Arnold is not at fault for leaving Liverpool on a free transfer; that is the fault of the club,” Murphy told Poker Firma.

That’s not always the case, but the football club has allowed not just this situation, but multiple situations where they could lose their best players and most valuable assets for nothing.

“I can understand the frustration from the fans that one of their own is leaving, [but] he’s given everything to the club and he has won everything with Liverpool.

He has been lucky to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world in Liverpool and he has the opportunity to play for arguably the biggest in Real Madrid, with some of the world’s best players - it would be very hard to turn down.”

Some at Liverpool believe they have a ready-made replacement in Northern Ireland international Conor Bradley.

However, Murphy does not believe Bradley is ready to start every week and insists he will need competition.

“I think that Conor Bradley is good enough to start for Liverpool every now and again,” Murphy continued.