The Trent Alexander-Arnold replacements Liverpool should consider | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold is in the final six months of his contract at Liverpool.

The Reds full-back has long been linked with a move away from Liverpool. But this finally looks his time might be up. The January transfer window has barely been open a few days and Real Madrid have reportedly already made an attempt to sign Alexander-Arnold.

According to reports, Los Blancos were attempting to sign Alexander-Arnold in January, instead of signing a pre-contract for the summer to get him on a free transfer — which they would be able to do as a foreign club.

There are still four weeks left in the January transfer window, so Liverpool will need to prepare for more bids from Real Madrid. If they are happy to let him go, they’ll also need to get some plans in place for a replacement.

The question is, who is there?

Devyne Rensch

Given Arne Slot’s history with the Eredivisie, it makes sense for Liverpool to be linked with Dutch full-backs. One name to have been linked so far this season is Devyne Rensch. The Ajax star is the third-best right-back in Europe’s top seven leagues in 2024-25, per our Squawka Score (80%).

Still only 21, Rensch has been on top form in the Eredivisie this season. He’s tough to beat on the floor, winning 68.85% of his ground duels, placing him in the 95th percentile and above compared to full-backs. He also ranks well for challenges lost, averaging just 0.44 per 90 minutes. For comparison, Alexander-Arnold has won 48.67% of his ground duels in the Premier League this season with 1.92 challenges lost per 90.

Rensch has averaged 1.6 tackles won per 90 in the Eredivisie this season, 1.24 interceptions and 1.07 clearances completed. He bests Alexander-Arnold in some of those metrics, and trails in others. But that’s to be expected.

Offensively, Rensch has only created 0.89 chances per 90 in the Eredivisie this season, with 0.27 big chances created and no assists. So Liverpool wouldn’t be able to directly replace Alexander-Arnold’s creativity, but they’ll struggle there anyway because the level is so high.

Martim Fernandes

If Liverpool do want to try to replace Alexander-Arnold creativity, Martim Fernandes could be a good shout. The Porto right-back has already been linked with a move to Liverpool, though there are also a handful of other Premier League clubs also reportedly interested.

Fernandes made his Porto first-team debut last season and has become a bigger part of their starting XI this campaign. The 18-year-old has played in all but two of Porto’s league games, starting 11 and amassing 984 minutes. Among full-backs in Europe’s top seven leagues with at least 900 minutes played, Fernandes has the best Expected Assists value of 0.34 per 90 — with Alexander-Arnold’s at 0.31.

The teenager does still trail Alexander-Arnold for chances created per 90 at 1.83 to 2.37, but Fernandes is ahead on big chances created (1.01 per 90 to 0.77). All of Fernandes’ xA comes from open-play too, which really shows his creativity. Not that being good at set-pieces is a bad thing, but his numbers aren’t inflated by taking corners and free-kicks. And he’s provided 0.46 assists per 90.

Defensively, Fernandes has averaged 1.74 tackles per 90, 0.91 interceptions and 0.73 clearances for Porto in the Primeira Liga. And at the age of 18, he’d be one to have for the long haul.

Jeremie Frimpong

Jeremie Frimpong is perhaps the most popular name on the list, but it’s an interesting one. Of course, Frimpong thrives more as a wing-back for Bayer Leverkusen rather than an orthodox right-back. But boy did he thrive under Xabi Alonso last season.

This season, Frimpong has averaged 1.42 chances created per 90 in the Bundesliga and 0.25 assists. He’s also averaged 0.17 xA per 90, all from open play. Of course, given his more advanced role, Frimpong does average an impressive 5.18 touches in the opposition box per 90 in the Bundesliga.

Defensively, there is a bit to be desired. But, again, that’s because it isn’t really his role in Leverkusen’s team. But the Dutchman has averaged 1 possession won in the attacking third per 90 and 1 possession won in the middle third per 90. He’s also averaged 1.25 tackles and 0.5 interceptions.

Conor Bradley

Of course, Liverpool could also just replace Alexander-Arnold from within. Conor Bradley has proven to be a more than capable deputy for Alexander-Arnold at times and was the man to replace the 26-year-old when he struggled against Manchester United. Bradley himself had only just come back from injury, but looked good in his brief cameo.

Now, Bradley is a slightly different kind of attacking full-back than Alexander-Arnold. While Alexander-Arnold is a creative outlet, Bradley is more of a full-back that gets into the box himself to get goals.

The Northern Irish full-back has averaged 2.31 shots per 90 in the Premier League this season with 1.15 on target, both more than Alexander-Arnold. By contrast, he’s yet to create a chance in the Premier League this season. He also offers something slightly fresh in terms of defensive output.

Bradley has averaged 0.77 tackles won per 90 in the Premier League, which is lower than Alexander-Arnold’s 2.05. But he comes out on top for possessions won in the defensive third per 90 at 4.62 to 2.69. And Bradley does already have some big fan-winning tackles to his name, including that one on Kylian Mbappe.