Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted that he wasn’t always happy with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s work rate in training with the Reds
Alexander-Arnold will leave Liverpool this summer having spent over 21 years with the Merseyside giants, coming through the youth ranks into the first team. The 26-year-old has decided not to renew his contract at Anfield and will leave the Reds as a free agent to join Real Madrid
Liverpool brought in Slot to take over from manager Jurgen Klopp last summer, and he has immediately led the Reds to a Premier League title. Alexander-Arnold did not exactly have a groundbreaking campaign for the Merseyside club this season, but he was a major part of Slot’s side through the first half of the season. However, the Dutch coach has now claimed that he wasn’t always impressed with the right-back’s work ethic on the training pitch
Speaking to the media, Slot said: “I talk to most players, not on a daily basis, but a lot. If there are circumstances why I should talk to them, you talk a bit more often to them. It’s clear with Trent’s situation that those circumstances are there for me to talk to him.
“I am talking to him as a human being. That, combined with winning something together, creates a different bond to the one the fans have with him. When we started pre-season, he was in my office quite a lot as well for similar reasons to what Mo [Salah] has said previously.
“He is going to leave either way, so why not say it? Maybe it is a first gift I can give to Xabi Alonso! I wasn’t completely happy with every minute of how he was on the training ground. In certain moments, I felt he could do a bit more, to say it mildly. That is what we talked about.
“I told him, ‘You are a much better defender than people tell you, but you don’t show it all the time.’ I said, ‘If you are at it and concentrated, there are not many players who can go around you’. Because he is fast, agile, has a great mentality, but it is about showing that every single game.”
Liverpool are set to take on Crystal Palace in their final game of the season, and Slot has revealed that he is unsure if Alexander-Arnold will play in the game on Sunday, May 25. The Dutchman said: “I haven’t decided yet. I think this should be a day that everybody is going to enjoy. It’s been 35 years, everybody is waiting for this moment, and I think we’ve set the example against Tottenham. I’ve never seen celebrations like that day