Carlo Ancelotti showed that he’s ever the diplomat with his answer to the inevitable questions about Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Liverpool on Wednesday night.
For the past several months, the Reds’ vice-captain has been the subject of intense speculation regarding a potential move to the Bernabeu amid the ongoing uncertainty over his contract situation at Anfield.
FSG are believed to be very confident that the 26-year-old will commit his future to his boyhood club, and he’s unlikely to feature tonight, with Arne Slot stating that he’ll only call upon the recently injured right-back if his hand is forced.
Much like how the Liverpool head coach knew he’d be asked about Mo Salah’s comments on his contract situation, Ancelotti must’ve been anticipating questions about Trent being linked with Real Madrid.
Los Blancos’ manager – who was previously in charge of Everton for a season-and-a-half – refused to be drawn on the Reds defender, replying (via TEAMtalk): “I’m sorry but I cannot think about Alexander-Arnold. He is not my player.”
The 65-year-old added: “I have a good memory of Everton and I consider Liverpool with usual respect; fantastic club and supporters, but I’m still an Evertonian!”
Ancelotti is far too experienced to get caught out by questions about transfer rumours, and he’s a manager who generally eschews controversy and routinely carries himself with dignity and respect, so he was never going to fan the flames when it comes to Trent and Real Madrid.
Although Liverpool would much rather have their vice-captain fully fit to feature tonight, at least his absence from the starting XI (as confirmed by Slot yesterday) means that he won’t be in the microscope to quite the same extent against the club with whom hes been heavily linked for some time.
Also, the Reds have a more than capable replacement in Conor Bradley, who hasn’t looked overawed at first-team level since making a genuine breakthrough when deputising for the injured Englishman in the early weeks of 2024.
While Ancelotti’s reply to the questions about Trent was a classt one, we’re nonethless yearning for LFC to finally get one over on him, having not won any of our last six clashes against the Italian since January 2020!
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