If Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool their perfect replacement is obvious

Liverpool may be at the top of the Premier League table and on a six-match winning run, but trouble is still brewing at Anfield. Three of their most important players – Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – are out of contract at the end of the season, and fears that they may lose them are growing. The concern is especially acute in the case of Alexander-Arnold.

The marauding wing-back has become a key target for Real Madrid, who are looking to sign a right-back next summer to replace club legend Dani Carvajal, who at 32 is getting long in the tooth and has recently suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury. Numerous media outlets have reported that the England man has become Real’s first choice, and the odds that he could leave Arne Slot’s side seem to be shortening.

An article published by Caught Offside on Thursday suggested that not only have talks over a new deal with Liverpool reached “a standstill” but that the Madrid side are increasingly confident that they will get their man. Few who are wanted by Real refuse the call, after all.

The good news for the Liverpool faithful is that should Alexander-Arnold leave the club, there is at least a strong shortlist of candidates being drawn up, and according to Caught Offside’s report the three players furthest up that list right now are Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, AS Monaco’s Vanderson and Michael Kayode from Fiorentina. All are exciting options – but which would be the best possible replacement for one of the Premier League’s most thrilling and threatening wing-backs?

Europe’s best young right-backs

All three of the alleged options have rapidly-growing reputations and have been linked with moves to elite European sides. Frimpong was a key player in Xabi Alonso’s extraordinary invincible Bayer Leverkusen side. Vanderson was reportedly close to a move to Tottenham Hotspur over the summer. Kayode, the youngest of three at 20, only has one full season of Serie A football under his belt but is being linked with Premier League teams on a routine basis. Losing Alexander-Arnold would certainly sting, especially on a free, but these are strong potential replacements.

Kayode, three years the junior of the others, is the least experienced and, at this stage in his career, the least developed. Quick and blessed with fine dribbling skills, he is becoming a strong passer and his tackling skills are impressive, but his end product is yet to hit the heights and he managed just one goal and one assist last season in 26 appearances for La Viola. Signing him would be a bet on his future quality rather than what he can do now, and with Conor Bradley coming along nicely at Anfield, there’s a strong argument that Liverpool’s best bet would be to go for someone more senior and more polished.

Frimpong is probably the best known of the three. A marauding wing-back who spends more time in the opposing half than his own, he is a superb runner, brilliant at identifying and exploiting space, and lethal in the final third both as a provider and as a goalscorer.

He has racked up 33 combined goals and assists in the Bundesliga alone over the past three seasons and can reasonably be described as one of the most dangerous wing-backs in the world already. The downside is that, much like Alexander-Arnold, he is far stronger in attack than defence, and he makes many fewer tackles and clearances than his prospective rivals. Frimpong, in that regard, is something of a continuity candidate, but it’s reasonable to question whether he would be as effective in a back four, as Liverpool play at the moment – his best work comes wide of Leverkusen’s back three, which provides more defensive cover on the occasions he is caught downfield on the counter-attack.

Vanderson, meanwhile, is probably the best all-rounder here. He’s a fine defender and quite superb when one-on-one with an opposing winger – so far this season, he has won over 71% of his tackles when challenged by a dribbler, an exceptionally high number. Going forward, he is certainly less of a threat than Frimpong and doesn’t generate anywhere near as many shooting chances, but is hardly a slouch and his passing game is impressive, as is his movement off the ball. If Frimpong is the hell-for-leather offensive option, Vanderson is a high-class defensive player who contributes in the final third.

How they compare

The table below shows how the three players compare to each other and to Alexander-Arnold across some key defensive and attacking statistics. As you can see, Frimpong is the only player who can come close to Alexander-Arnold’s attacking output and is even a more reliable goalscorer, but Vanderson is comfortably the most effective defender and isn’t too far behind when it comes to assists, even if he doesn’t take opposing defenders on as often or as successfully.

Ultimately, the choice would come down to whether Slot values defensive solidity across a back four more – in which case Vanderson would likely be the best option – or whether he believes that his defence can handle having another highly attacking player at wing-back. On the evidence of the early Premier League season, in which Liverpool have had the best defence in the league despite the attacking tendencies of their wing-backs, that may well be the best way to go, and that would mean that Frimpong is surely the first choice, at least before cost considerations come into play.

Whatever happens, Liverpool will be desperate to hang on to Alexander-Arnold. Not only is he a brilliant player but he’s also a dressing room leader, and with even the best new signings there is always some risk that they won’t gel with their new team or settle well in a new country. But at least, if the worst does happen, there are some exceptional names on the table.