Trent Alexander-Arnold has given seal of approval to Liverpool reunion as comments resurface
Comments from the former Liverpool defender have emerged
Ibrahima Konate looks set to join Trent Alexander-Arnold at Real Madrid(Image: Richard Sellers/Allstar, Getty Images)
Trent Alexander-Arnold will no doubt be delighted to learn that his former Liverpool team-mate Ibrahima Konate appears destined to join him in the Spanish capital this summer. At least, that is if the ex-Reds star’s past comments are anything to go by.
Following months of rumour and speculation, Konate is poised to put pen to paper at Real on a free transfer after it was confirmed he will depart Liverpool when his contract expires. The French centre-back arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2021 and forged a close bond with Alexander-Arnold, who made the switch to Real last summer.
Their potential reunion will come as welcome news to the England full-back. The former team-mates have been lavish in their praise of one another over the years, with Alexander-Arnold singing Konate’s praises following Liverpool’s Champions League final showdown with Real in 2022.
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Despite the Reds falling to a 1-0 defeat that evening, Konate was utterly commanding throughout. “Wow. Outstanding,” Alexander-Arnold told Liverpool’s official website the following day. “The performance he put in yesterday, I’m lost for words. Words can’t do it justice.”
Reflecting on his growing friendship with Konate at the time, he added: “We’ve created a bond and he’s an amazing lad. The potential he has is ridiculous. The sky is the limit.”
Twelve months earlier, shortly after Konate had touched down at Liverpool from RB Leipzig in a £36m deal, Alexander-Arnold had already made clear just how impressed he was with his new colleague.
“He’s a very athletic boy, which is probably something more common now with centre-backs,” he said. “Being amazing athletes, who are fast and strong and he ticks all those boxes. He’s still young. But he’s got huge potential.
Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrate Liverpool being named Premier League champions(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“I think obviously learning and playing next to Virgil [Van Dijk], he’s one of those players you instantly pick up things from – just his positioning and the way he commands the defence.”
The sentiment appears to be reciprocated. Ahead of England’s quarter-final clash with France at the 2022 World Cup, Konate spoke candidly about his close relationship with Alexander-Arnold, indicating he too would be eager to reunite with his former team-mate.
“It’s a rivalry that’s been around since the dawn of time,” Konate said in a press conference for France’s clash with the Three Lions. “Trent Alexander-Arnold sent me a message saying, ‘See you on Saturday, my brother’ because I’m very close to him.”
Konate had been in talks with the Reds over a potential contract renewal, but the two sides were unable to reach a resolution. In April, he claimed he was “close” to putting pen to paper on fresh terms and suggested he was eager to remain at Anfield.
Yet he will now bring the curtain down on his five-year spell at Anfield, having claimed the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during that time.
Real Madrid are considered his most probable next destination. It would represent another significant transfer setback for the Reds. The Anfield side saw Alexander-Arnold depart for Los Blancos last summer, with Madrid paying a modest £10m to sign the defender just weeks before his contract expired on Merseyside.
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