Trent Alexander Arnold: The surprising TRUTH about Real Madrid interest

Real Madrid's true feeling about Trent Alexander-Arnold raise some eyebrows. Liverpool can use this.

It's no secret that Real Madrid want to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold. That's been abundantly clear for some time now and Los Blancos don't miss an opportunity to pile pressure on players with expiring contracts.

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Alexander-Arnold is remarkably close to being able to formally talk with them, too. That can happen from January 1st - a little over two weeks away.

Once that day comes around, Alexander-Arnold is free to sign a pre-contract with any non-English club. Madrid will almost certainly have an offer waiting for him.

But how much do they actually want him? That's the big question and one we're struggling to answer.

New information suggests this isn't quite the all-in pursuit that everyone thought it was.

Real Madrid have Alexander-Arnold doubts

Relevo reports that Real Madrid aren't actually entirely convinced by Alexander-Arnold. This isn't a case of them desperately wanting to sign the player.

Instead, it's entirely opportunistic. They see value for money in the deal, rather than viewing Alexander-Arnold as a perfect signing.

The suggestion is that if Madrid needed to pay a significant transfer fee, they wouldn't pursue Alexander-Arnold. It's just that he's free.

It's an interesting one and makes you wonder exactly what the charm offensive has been. We've seen talk of Ballon d'Or potential and Galacticos - but Madrid don't appear to view things that way.

They just see a top player available for free.

And so this isn't a Kylian Mbappe or Jude Bellingham signing where the club are pulling out all the stops to make their dream signing. You've got to wonder whether Alexander-Arnold knows this - or cares.

Because he could be walking into a situation where he's very much not the star.

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold's contract decision CLEAR