- The Liverpool defender has been strongly linked with a summer move to Spain
- He is also enduring a spell on the sidelines as he deals with an ankle injury
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Liverpool star Andy Robertson has opened up on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s current state of mind as he continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Reds defender Alexander-Arnold, who has spent his entire career at Anfield and is the vice-captain of the Premier League leaders, appears to be on the verge of departing for Spain in the summer transfer window.
A move away from Anfield would be on a free deal, with his contract expiring in a few months, and he has been free to negotiate a move away since the January window.
Some Liverpool fans have been hit hard by the reports, with one fan seen burning a Reds shirt with Alexander-Arnold’s name on despite no move away yet being official.
Alexander-Arnold himself has kept quiet on the reports, but his full back partner in crime Robertson has opened up on the ordeal ahead of his side’s game against Fulham this weekend.
And Robertson, who has played alongside the 26-year-old 276 times for the Reds, revealed the defender is not in a good place – but not because of any links away.
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has given an insight into Trent Alexander-Arnold’s current state of mind
The Reds defender has been strongly linked with a summer transfer move to Real Madrid
Robertson said his full back partner is ‘not great’ – but because he is currently out injured
‘Trent’s head is not great because he’s injured,’ Robertson said. ‘He hates being injured – none of us like being injured but it hurts Trent a little bit more.
‘That’s all he is focused on.’
Alexander-Arnold is enduring a spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury in the Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain last month.
If he is to leave, it would mean he potentially only has a handful of games left in a Reds shirt as he faces a race against time to return to action before the end of the campaign.
He was, though, seen greeting his team-mates at Anfield after they beat Everton in the Merseyside derby in midweek, and Robertson himself was staying tight-lipped on any reports of a move away.
‘It is impossible for me to say we have not seen all the noise and everyone commenting on it,’ he added. ‘But for us our focus is for him to get back fit and healthy.
‘Once he does that, what will happen, will happen. No one knows that yet. People can talk and speculate but for us we want Trent back very soon.’
The Scotland defender was, meanwhile, full of praise for Alexander-Arnold’s fellow Liverpudlian Curtis Jones, who filled in a right back against the Toffees in the England man’s absence.
Alexander-Arnold could leave Liverpool on a free transfer to join Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid
The defender was in good spirits on the sidelines during Everton clash, but it remains unclear how many more times he will play for the Reds
Robertson was full of praise for Curtis Jones, who filled in at full back against the Toffees
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‘I thought he was excellent,’ Robertson said. ‘Curtis was excellent.
‘He played a really good game. Such an intelligent footballer. We were joking yesterday – he has played left wing, No 10, No 6, No 8, striker, as a right back. Hopefully he can’t play left.back.
‘But it shows how intelligent he is. He took the game in his stride, so comfortable on the ball and he defended really well too.’
