Klopp signed “the next Trent”, now he may never play for Liverpool again

Things are getting real at Anfield. A lot of Liverpool fans are going to be feeling rather glass-half-empty right now, what with Trent Alexander-Arnold all but confirmed as a Los Blancos Galactico.

It’s been a long time coming. The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and has been coy on his future for a long while, actually neglecting to discuss the matter for the past several months.

It would take something extraordinary and, frankly, unrealistic to see the England star pen new terms at his boyhood club. It is what it is, and now FSG must accelerate plans for a successor.

How Liverpool are going to replace Alexander-Arnold

When asked a question on whether Conor Bradley could succeed Alexander-Arnold in the event of his departure, Arne Slot responded evasively. Read between the lines, however, and you can ascertain that he answered in the affirmative.

Bradley, 21, is going to bear increased responsibility next term, but he’s certainly done enough through his maiden years as a professional thus far to prove he has what it takes. Indeed, even pundit Rio Ferdinand had to admit that the Northern Irishman was “phenomenal” when breaking onto the scene last year.

As you will see below, two very different widemen. This works in Liverpool’s favour, balancing Slot’s system with two dynamic and contrasting parts, but Liverpool’s loss will still cut deep.

It’s a shame Liverpool have to venture into the transfer market at all this summer. Plans were drawn several years ago to fully bolster Liverpool’s right-back department, but a prodigious young star has sadly fallen by the wayside after once being viewed as Trent’s heir.

Liverpool’s forgotten Trent heir

Liverpool were a day late and a dollar short in the Premier League title race last season. That doesn’t look like it will be the case this term, and Alexander-Arnold will bow out as a two-time champion in the top flight.

Bradley can serve in his stead, for sure, but there’s a question regarding the 21-year-old’s fitness levels, routinely sidelined this term. Liverpool actually have a long-forgotten Trent heir, Bradley’s age-mate, who was anticipated to become a mainstay in Jurgen Klopp’s Red side, but that doesn’t look likely anymore.

In June 2022, Liverpool moved to sign teenage right-back Calvin Ramsay from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen for an initial fee of £4.2m. A further £2.5m in add-ons was agreed, but it doesn’t look like clauses will have been met for such a payment, on an individual basis at least.

Through a mixture of athletic ability, creativity and determination, Ramsay boasts the prototypical skillset of a modern full-back. Similar, in a way, to the talents of Bradley.

Although maybe it would be remiss to exclude the significance that was placed on his playmaking skills. BBC Scotland’s Liam McLeod even remarked following the youngster’s transfer to Merseyside that “the way he plays the game has been modelled” on Alexander-Arnold. The Athletic’s JJ Bull tipped him to be the “next Trent”.

In this way, there’s clearly a long-lost creative force that Liverpool could have used this summer to jostle with Bradley for the top spot, perhaps retaining Alexander-Arnold’s spirit as he ventures off for pastures new in the Spanish capital.

Injuries have unfortunately been the bane of the one-cap Scotland international’s fledgling career, but there truly was such a crackling of excitement regarding his potential.

During those early days at Aberdeen, the teenager posted a goal and nine assists across only 39 senior appearances, highlighting the playmaking quality which Trent has sharpened over the years.

The series of failed loan spells in recent years have, of course, kept Ramsay away from Liverpool’s first team. Injury problems emerged from the offing, limiting him to just two appearances under Klopp’s wing during his debut campaign in England, featuring off the bench against Napoli in the Champions League and playing the full 90 as Liverpool beat Derby County in the Carabao Cup.

Against the Rams, he caught the eye even as Liverpool struggled, forced into a penalty shootout that saw Caoimhin Kelleher produce one of his many clutch performances between the sticks. The Liverpool Echo actually awarded the young Scot a 7/10 match rating, hailing his ‘impressive athleticism and tenacious defending.’

Ramsay was regarded as being tailor-made for Liverpool and specifically Klopp’s system, and his performance in the Carabao Cup only reinforced this notion, completing the most passes on the pitch at 105 and leading those such as Liverpool.com to predict he would be set for a big future.

Ramsay is now back out on loan, playing in Scotland with Kilmarnock. It’s the 21-year-old’s fourth short-term stint away from Anfield since the start of last season, with a catalogue of damaging injuries stunting his progress.

A depreciation in market value marks the defender’s struggles. Transfermarkt record that Ramsay is worth just £2m at present, even less than the sharp fee FSG paid for his services three years ago.

He’s still young and hopes will be high that the Scotsman can forge a successful career for himself after such exciting beginnings in his homeland. Sadly, it just won’t be at Anfield.

Once such an “exceptional” young talent – as was said by Klopp, commenting on his emergence at Aberdeen – Ramsay has endured a nightmare few years on Liverpool’s books. It doesn’t seem likely he will be serving as Alexander-Arnold’s heir any time soon.

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