Arne Slot may be able to convince Trent Alexander-Arnold to stay at the club by proving to him that Liverpool are capable of consistently beating the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid to the biggest honours, according to Reds expert David Lynch.
Though the nature of Liverpool's draw with Newcastle United on Wednesday evening will be disappointing to fans given they needlessly surrendered a 3-2 lead in the 90th minute, the draw should not dampen what was undoubtedly an exceptional week for the team.
Indeed, Slot's side beat reigning European champions Real Madrid 2-0 on November 27 as well as reigning Premier League champions Manchester City 2-0 on December 1, and arguably themselves as favourites in both competitions.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive nature of Liverpool's 2024-25 season, fans have become increasingly worried about the contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent, who are all set to leave for free at the end of the season.
Trent has himself said that winning football's biggest honours are of paramount importance to him, and Lynch believes that the past week of results could have had a positive effect on the Scouser, telling Sports Mole: "He's spoken in the past of wanting to win trophies and that being a main driver for him, and if he thinks that he can do that at Liverpool then he's [got] no reason to leave.
"[It] looks like we've got a really good chance of major silverware, we're going to keep adding to this squad. That new sporting structure is there.
"[They're] going to try and put Liverpool back where they were at their peak under Jurgen Klopp - there's a lot to be able buy into there. So I think it really does make a strong case for him to stay, and is really helpful to Liverpool in these negotiations."
The Philippe Coutinho warning
Should Liverpool lose Trent to Real Madrid, who have been strongly linked to the right-back for some time, the defender would not be the first player to have his head turned by the allure of Spanish footballing giants.
Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool in January 2018 for Barcelona, and while the Brazilian would go on to win a number of trophies, he never truly established himself as an integral part of either Barca or his later club Bayern Munich.
Although the situations might not be entirely comparable considering Liverpool managed to rake in more than £100m for Coutinho while they risk losing Trent for free, Lynch argued that the scouser should heed the example of the Brazilian, who left Merseyside a year before the Reds would win the Champions League.
Lynch told Sports Mole: "I remember a conversation that Jurgen Klopp had with Philippe Coutinho not long before he actually left where Klopp spelled out to him 'I think Barcelona are going in this direction and I think Liverpool are on the up, and I think we're going to be a side that challenges for major honours in the coming seasons.'
"He couldn't convince Coutinho that that was the case. He went to leave, and then not too long down the line then Barcelona got beat 4-0 at Anfield and Liverpool won the European Cup, they won the Premier League and Barca struggled in the [following] years.
"So Klopp was absolutely right in that situation and I think you could make a similar argument to Trent here."
© Imago
Liverpool's responsibility to Trent
On the other hand, while there is an argument that though Trent himself must surely realise that Liverpool are close to winning major honours, the club have a responsibility to make sure they reward one of their best players.
Some thought that Conor Bradley had performed well enough to warrant a serious conversation about replacing the vice-captain in defence, suggesting that it was only Bradley's injury against Real Madrid that assured Trent of a starting spot in the XI.
However, the right-back produced a passing clinic against Manchester City at Anfield, and played a starring role in the buildup to the game's opening goal.
Lynch was keen to highlight just how good a footballer the Souser is, when speaking about Trent's performances of late, he told Sports Mole: "He's just one of the best footballers in the world and he absolutely proved that again. I mean, his defensive work - really, really solid down that side.
"Trent was really solid defensively and just showed that he's capable of doing things that not many players in world football are capable of doing - not just that ball he plays for the opening goal, but there's one he plays that curves into and out against Nathan Ake.
"It was a good reminder to people [to not] get too carried away with how good Conor Bradley is - and he is brilliant by the way. Trent Alexander-Arnold is right up there and a key player who Liverpool can't afford to lose and they do need to find some sort of agreement on this contract soon because the clock is ticking."
Lewis Nolan
