Real Madrid already having transfer REGRET over Trent Alexander-Arnold

Real Madrid are today entitled to ask themselves whether the £8.4m they paid Liverpool to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold for the FIFA Club World Cup was worth it.

The 26-year-old’s overall record reads: Five starts, one assist. And he did not even play in the semi-finals when they needed him most.

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Madrid exited the tournament to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday - swept away in 23 first-half minutes.

It was 3-0 before the Spaniards knew what was happening. A fourth was added in the second half by Goncalo Ramos - who then paid tribute to Diogo Jota in a manner which we have come to expect.

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Would Trent have fared any better than Federico Valverde? Who knows. His record defending one-on-one against PSG wasn’t great for Liverpool last season.

Why didn't Alexander-Arnold play against PSG?

But this isn’t a situation Madrid wanted to find themselves in. Valverde is a midfielder - one of the best in the world. The club do NOT want to use him as a right-back.

Last season they had to manage as best they could with Dani Carvajal injured and a dearth of other options. Trent was supposed to sort this out.

Signed to a massive contract and a sizeable signing-on fee, Madrid should be able to rely on him to fill the position long term.

So where was he?

Well, according to reports in Spain, he was injured. He didn’t finish training well, it was claimed on Cadena Ser, and so starting duties had to be doled out elsewhere.

And they are not happy about it.

Carvajal tipped to take over

“Fede Valverde has to assume a position that is not his natural demarcation to keep the team competing, a circumstance to which he is more than accustomed,” reads a report in Defensa Central.

“However, from the new Real Madrid coaching staff they know that this is not the solution to a problem that seemed extinct with the arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold himself.

“If the physical problems of the Real Madrid '12' continue towards the league start, Dani Carvajal may be the one finally chosen to assume the starting position on the right lane.”

Madrid not getting value from TAA deal

For Madrid at least, the signs are worrying. Right-back is not a glamour position. You expect those guys to play the vast majority of the games.

Spending a reported €15m per annum in salary costs should get you consistency and robustness. Not to mention the €2m per game they lavished on Trent to play in the CWC.

But those fitness problems are stacking up. Last season for the Reds, Trent had at least THREE separate injuries - causing him to miss around 10 matches in total. The season before, knee ligament trouble saw him miss even more matches.

Liverpool have moved on from Trent Alexander-Arnold

He may only be 26, but there is a lot of football in the legs of a player who’s played senior football for close to a decade. Trent played close to 400 times for Liverpool - and has 34 England caps.

Liverpool fans were dismayed by his decision to leave the club at the end of his contract - taking it to be a betrayal.

They would have preferred the vice-captain and homegrown hero to grow old at Anfield and enjoy the adulation coming his way for the rest of his career.

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But there is a chance that Liverpool have already got the best of Trent Alexander-Arnold - and are now ready to move on with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley.

And for Real Madrid his signing could be one which only adds to their problems at right-back rather than solving them. Madrid's players are already reported to be disgruntled at the level of so-called privilege Trent has been afforded.

It's not been a great start to life for the Englishman in Madrid. Who knows, it may be a move he comes to regret as time passes.