How Dani Carvajal’s injury could lead to The move of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid

The season-ending injury to Dani Carvajal means that Real Madrid could sign a new right back. Trent Alexander-Arnold is officially on the market.

Real Madrid said that Carvajal hurt his right leg against Villarreal on October 5 and had a “ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, a ruptured external collateral ligament, and a ruptured popliteus tendon.” The winner of Euro 2024 will miss the rest of Real Madrid’s defenses of their La Liga and Champions League titles in 2024–25. This means that Carlo Ancelotti will have to play Lucas Vázquez at right back.

Vázquez has filled in on the right side before, but he is not naturally suited for that role. He also doesn’t have the same strength or defense skills as Carvajal.

The makeshift fix means that Real Madrid could sign a new player in either January or the summer. Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold has been linked with Real Madrid before, but the rumors are getting stronger now that the England player hasn’t signed a new deal with the Reds.

The deal Alexander-Arnold has now ends on June 30, 2025. The defender should stay at Liverpool and become captain when Virgil van Dijk goes. The 26-year-old could find a new road, though, if Real Madrid becomes interested again.

Marca, a Spanish news source, said that Real Madrid is still very interested in Alexander-Arnold. He would not only fill in a big hole for Ancelotti, but he would also take over for Carvajal. The Spanish player will be 33 years old when he gets better from his bad knee injury, after all.

A lot of defense depth would be added to Ancelotti’s team by Alexander-Arnold. Because David Alaba, Éder Militão, and Joan Martínez are all hurt, Los Blancos don’t have many choices if Vázquez or Antonio Rüdiger also gets hurt. Alexander-Arnold had 319 games for Liverpool at the time of the October international break. The 2019 Champions League title and the 2020 Premier League title are in his prize cabinet. Also, he was very important to Liverpool’s runs in the UCL in 2018 and 2022, but Real Madrid them in both finals.

A move to Madrid would also bring Alexander-Arnold together with Jude Bellingham, who plays for England and is a close friend.

Right now, Alexander-Arnold’s future with Liverpool, Real Madrid, or any other club is just a guess. But if his contract problem doesn’t get resolved soon, the talk will continue.