Journalist: Liverpool “Far Away” in Contract Talks with Conor Bradley | OneFootball

Liverpool Facing Another Contract Issue with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Replacement “Far Away” in Negotiations

Considering it’s international break, it has been a chaotic week for Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s reported move to Real Madrid have stole the headlines, with supporters now speculating over who could be the replacement for the 26-year-old full-back.

Current backup Conor Bradley has been heavily tipped as a potential option for the Reds, with a string of hugely impressive performances over the past 12-18 months.

Ben Pescod and academy expert Lewis Bower discussed Alexander-Arnold’s reported exit from Liverpool and some potential concerns over Bradley’s future in Arne Slot’s plans on the latest episode of ‘The Academy Podcast’ by Anfield Index…

Is Bradley Good Enough to Replace Trent?

“I think regardless of Bradley’s ability, there needs to be a right-back signed,” began Bower, “I don’t think there’s anybody ready to step up straight from the academy just yet.”

“Whether Bradley is good enough to start every week for Liverpool, I think the jury is still out,” continued Bower, “I think he has been good in patches but the more of a sample size that we get, then his performances would average out a bit lower than the highs that we are seeing at the moment.”

The 21-year-old has made 22 appearances across all competitions so far this season but has managed just 1,001 minutes across those games. Bradley has still been impressive in those opportunities though, most notably in his performance against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

There have been some rocky times too, with Bower pointing out the blame he received for Nottingham Forest’s winning goal in Slot’s only Premier League defeat so far.

Photo: @LFC

Bradley’s Contract Situation

“I do actually know that he has been offered a new one in December and it was far away from being anywhere close to being acceptable, so we will see,” said Bower.

“It does look like the club want to tie him down, but we just need to wait and see.”

It’s a situation that has become far too familiar at the club over recent years and Bradley isn’t the only player with a small amount of time left on his current deal.

This summer will signal just one-year left on the contracts of Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Caoimhin Kelleher, with those contracts all set to expire in the summer of 2026.

Bradley is joined by the likes of Luis Diaz, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo – who all have just two years left on their deals.

Whilst the current situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold has frustrated supporters, the idea of having 12 first-team players with two or less years left on their deals is equally alarming.