Graeme Souness believes Liverpool are at risk of losing two of their star players to Real Madrid this summer.
The Reds have made a perfect start to life under new manager Arne Slot and enjoyed an emphatic 3-0 win over arch-rivals Manchester United prior to the international break.
However, there are looming fears regarding three of their most important players, with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all in the final year of their contracts.
Liverpool to lose Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk to Real Madrid?
Alexander-Arnold, in particular, has been regularly linked with Real Madrid over the past 12 months and Souness believes he would be a perfect fit for Los Blancos.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is tailor-made for Real Madrid in terms of the way he plays, and he’s got an unbelievable delivery – not to mention he’s good friends with Jude Bellingham,” Souness said (via The Mirror).
“He could end up at Madrid and that message may already have been relayed to Liverpool. I don’t see any obvious reason to take Trent off against Manchester United, other than if they know he’s leaving.
“They’d still want to keep him on side for the rest of the season and he’ll go for free at the end of it. The message that he’s made up his mind may already have been relayed to the higher-ups at the club. He’s running his contract down. If you’re going to leave Liverpool, where else other than Real Madrid can you really go to better yourself?”
Souness didn’t stop there, admitting Van Dijk would also fit in well at the Santiago Bernabeu, although the Scot stressed that Liverpool cannot afford to lose all three players in one go.
“Liverpool can’t let all three of Trent, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk leave. I could see Trent at Real Madrid, I could see Van Dijk there as well,” he added.
“The point being that if you’re leaving Liverpool then the only place you’d really want to go is Madrid. Van Dijk might be getting older but he’s an athlete. You can still get a couple more good years out of him. He’s a better player than what Real already have in the likes of Antonio Rudiger.
“He’s more of a footballer, he’s a better athlete, better in the air and better on the ball. I wouldn’t even compare the two.”