How Liverpool’s ‘Achraf Hakimi’ challenge can reveal Trent Alexander-Arnold lesson

Arne Slot admitted disappointment at Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave his boyhood club but history offers Liverpool an encouraging sign

As Arne Slot prepares for life after Trent Alexander-Arnold, he needs only look in the mirror for proof that there can be a smooth succession at Liverpool. “There was quite a lot of questions of me replacing Jurgen [Klopp] and there were so many examples of people leaving this club,” said Slot, quoting an example from 1977, the year before his birth. “Kevin Keegan left, Kenny Dalglish arrived, we all felt disappointed, we felt sad, but we always know this club will generate new stars again.”

That Dalglish went on to become still more beloved than Keegan, the scorer of the winner in the European Cup final in his debut year and arguably Liverpool’s greatest player, may be the most encouraging precedent. Mention of Dalglish, admittedly, could apply pressure to Conor Bradley, the understudy who, Slot confirmed, will start against Arsenal on Sunday and, had he been fit, would have begun against Chelsea last week. So, too, comparisons with the man who is leaving.

If Slot was quick to underline that it is unfair to expect Bradley to be like Alexander-Arnold, he drew an instructive parallel with another of the world’s finest full-backs. “Let’s not compare him with Trent already. They are two different types, in my opinion,” he said.

Slot compared Bradley to PSG full-back Hakimi as he explained the difference to Alexander-Arnold (Getty)

If Alexander-Arnold’s defining quality is his extraordinary passing range, Bradley’s is his remarkable running power. “Conor has such an intense playing style,” Slot noted. “They all run a lot.” He then raised his right arm to indicate a higher level and added: “But Conor is in his own league when it comes to running a lot. [He is] comparable maybe with Achraf Hakimi at Paris Saint-Germain, he is everywhere during the game. But Hakimi is 26. He is much more used to doing this every single week.”

And that is part of the challenge for Bradley: to remain fit enough to hit those levels regularly. Slot sidestepped questions over whether Alexander-Arnold’s departure will mean he has to sign a right-back, arguing that Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones have played games there last season, but admitted it is not the finest position of any. Liverpool have had a long time to plan. Rejection from one of their own, in the departing Merseysider, was nonetheless “a disappointment”.

But Slot tends to be eminently reasonable. He may disagree with Alexander-Arnold’s choice, but did so rationally. “I’m the type of human being who can understand a lot of arguments,” he said. “That’s not to say I would make the same choice. But I can understand people’s thoughts. I also understood throughout a long period that it was a really difficult decision for him. That was the main thing for me; that it was really hard for him to leave this special club.

“The only thing we can do is to make it as hard as possible to leave this football club. Players want to be here, and we can focus on the one who is leaving or the one or two who have left before; or we can focus on the fact how special it is that Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk [have extended] their contracts here again and want to be here longer.

“I’ve left former clubs where I was very happy as well, but that wasn’t at the elite level where I am working at now. Trent is not the first and won’t be the last one to leave a special club. Players from [Manchester] City, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool sometimes go somewhere else. We as a club did everything we could to keep him here.”

Alexander-Arnold’s departure leaves a big hole (Getty)

When players do decide to leave Liverpool, the path often leads to Spain: to Barcelona for Javier Mascherano, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, to Real Madrid for Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso.

Liverpool can draw different conclusions. Alonso and Mascherano were the outstanding axis who both won the Champions League at their next employers, whose replacements, in the injury-prone Alberto Aquilani and the abject Christian Poulsen, were reasons Liverpool declined. But Liverpool won the Champions League the year after Owen left, albeit in an astonishing anomaly. They struggled to spend the Suarez funds well on forwards, even if two of those also recruited in the summer of 2014, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana, became crucial players under Klopp. Coutinho, of course, financed the arrivals of Alisson and Van Dijk. His legacy can still be seen in the centre of Liverpool’s defence.

History offers many an encouraging lesson for Liverpool. There have been times when there has been seamless continuity, or even improvement, when a pivotal figure leaves – Bob Paisley for Bill Shankly, Joe Fagan for Paisley, Dalglish for Fagan, Slot for Klopp in the dugout; Dalglish for Keegan, John Aldridge for Ian Rush, Alan Hansen for Emlyn Hughes, Graeme Souness for Ian Callaghan on the pitch – and, often, the successor has already been at the club, serving their apprenticeship.

Yet it often tends to come from a position of strength, in successful times. Liverpool’s succession planning has gone well in the last two summers, in the midfield rebuild of 2023 and the managerial change of 2024. But either Bradley or a newcomer will have to prove the right right-back if Alexander-Arnold’s exit is to look not just disappointing but damaging.