Trent Alexander-Arnold's Liverpool Return Cools Amid Madrid Struggles

The story almost writes itself. A hometown hero leaves under a cloud, struggles in foreign colours, and the old club – wounded but watchful – waits for the chance of a reunion.

Not this time. Not yet.

Despite growing problems at right-back, Liverpool are not planning a move to bring Trent Alexander-Arnold back to Anfield, according to sources speaking to Football Insider. The romantic notion of a shock return is being firmly parked, even as his Real Madrid adventure stalls under Jose Mourinho.

Madrid minutes dry up

Alexander-Arnold, now 28, left Liverpool for Madrid in 2025 chasing the biggest stage and the brightest lights. Two years on, the dream has dimmed.

He has started just three of Real Madrid’s nine La Liga fixtures this season. In each of their last three league and European games, he has not even left the bench, an unused substitute watching on as Federico Valverde takes his place on the team sheet and on the pitch.

This is not the role he imagined when he walked out of Anfield.

The England international is understood to be intent on fighting for his place in Mourinho’s side rather than seeking an immediate escape route. Valverde currently has the shirt at right-back, and Alexander-Arnold is on the outside looking in. That reality has inevitably fuelled speculation over his future and stirred familiar whispers on Merseyside.

Liverpool links refuse to die

Once a club builds itself around a local lad, the bond never really disappears. The transfer gossip reflects that.

Alexander-Arnold’s name has been repeatedly linked with Liverpool in recent weeks, with some reports framing a possible January move as a way to solve Andoni Iraola’s ongoing issues on the right of defence.

But as outlined on Football Insider’s Transfer Insider podcast, those close to the situation insist there is “nothing concrete” in the idea of a return. Liverpool, as it stands, are not pursuing a deal.

The links are obvious. He was a key figure in the most successful Liverpool side of the modern era before choosing Madrid. He knows the club, the city, the expectations. For fans and pundits alike, the dots are easy to join. The reality behind the scenes is far less romantic.

Iraola’s right-back puzzle

Iraola has his own headache at right-back. Liverpool have not truly replaced Alexander-Arnold since his departure last year, and the position has become a running theme of his early tenure.

Jeremie Frimpong and Ronald Araujo have been rotated and repurposed on that flank as the manager searches for balance and reliability. Both bring qualities, both have flaws, and the debate over who should start has become a weekly talking point.

On paper, a discontented Alexander-Arnold in Madrid looks like the perfect solution. On the inside, Liverpool do not see it that way. The club are expected to look elsewhere in January if they move for a right-back at all.

A fractured relationship that never fully healed

Any talk of a fairytale reunion also has to reckon with how it ended.

Alexander-Arnold did not simply leave Liverpool; he ran his contract down. As the months ticked away and no new deal was signed, the mood in the stands turned. By the end of his time at Anfield, he was being booed by sections of the support who felt betrayed by his decision to walk away for nothing.

The bitterness lingered. When he returned with Real Madrid for a Champions League tie last November, the reception was frosty. The boos were louder, more pointed, as if supporters were determined to remind him what he had given up. Many on Merseyside have watched his struggle for minutes in Spain with a certain grim satisfaction.

Yet the player’s own feelings are more complicated.

In August, Alexander-Arnold admitted he still holds Liverpool in high regard. He spoke of regular trips back to the city to visit family, of watching every game, of still supporting the team he grew up with.

“I still watch every game. I support them. I want to see them do well,” he said. “There will always be a place in my heart for Liverpool, no matter what. I hope one day there'll be a degree of understanding about the decisions I wanted to make around my own life.”

The affection is clearly not one-way traffic in his mind, even if the stands have not yet thawed.

No homecoming on the horizon

For now, the story is stuck in limbo.

Alexander-Arnold fights for relevance in Madrid, trying to dislodge Valverde and convince Mourinho he belongs in the starting XI. Liverpool, under Iraola, wrestle with a position they have never truly stabilised since he left, while publicly distancing themselves from the idea of bringing him back.

The links will not disappear. They rarely do when a player of his stature and history finds himself on the fringes abroad. But as things stand, Liverpool’s right-back future and Alexander-Arnold’s Madrid battle look set to continue on separate paths.

How long both sides can keep it that way is another question entirely.