Four-time league title winner Steve Nicol has urged his former club Liverpool to cash in on Trent Alexander-Arnold with youngster Conor Bradley primed to replace the England international.
Alexander-Arnold, a key part of the 2019-20 Premier League winning side, is out of contract at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Reds are keen to resolve his future, with Jurgen Klopp's eventual successor as manager poised to run the rule over the squad after taking the reins, but Real Madrid are thought to be monitoring the defender's situation.
The 25-year-old isn't the only star name reaching a stick-or-twist moment with his contract. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are both out of contract in 2025, with Liverpool's choice of manager potentially having a bearing on their respective futures.
Alexander-Arnold has missed a number of games this season, while also occasionally being used in a hybrid role for his club or in midfield for England. Northern Ireland international Bradley has deputised at full-back, impressing enough for Nicol to believe he can be a short-term solution as well as a longer-term one.
"I don't care who you support. Trent Alexander-Arnold isn't a good defender," Nicol, who spent more than a decade at Anfield, told ESPN.
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"If Madrid were to offer, I don't know, £60, £70, £80m when you have a young kid in Conor Bradley, who is a miles better defender, great going forward, but in the same class as Trent. So it depends on the next manager, whether it's a possibility."
Nicol had previously taken aim at Alexander-Arnold during Liverpool's 3-1 defeat at Arsenal. “Alexander-Arnold, as great as he is on the ball going forward, he’s a liability defensively," he said. "He can’t defend one on one and he doesn’t get in good positions to stop [Gabriel] Martinelli today getting the ball."
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Conor Bradley scored Northern Ireland's winner against Scotland (Getty Images)Bradley was the star of the show on Tuesday night, scoring the only goal of the game as Northern Ireland claimed victory away to Scotland. It was the 20-year-old's first senior international goal, following on from his first Premier League goal back in January.
"I was just hoping it went in, to be honest," Bradley told BBC Sport. "I don't even know what happened after that. To get the 1-0 win is just fantastic and it's a great night all-round.
"I think we still have lots of places to improve, but that was a great performance. I think at times we could have been a bit better on the ball.
"To defend the way we did for the 90 minutes and keep a clean sheet here at Hampden, obviously Scotland are going to the Euros and they are a great side full or Premier League players, it is just brilliant."
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