Liverpool have star 'better than Jude Bellingham' but FSG risk losing him for nothing

Liverpool are running the risk of losing Trent Alexander-Arnold for nothing despite the 25-year-old being ranked above Jude Bellingham by one of his team-mates. The Reds defender is one of the finest players to come through Liverpool's youth ranks in recent times but is facing an uncertain future.

Alexander-Arnold has spent his entire career at his boyhood club but is nearing the end of his current deal, which is due to expire in less than a year. Talks over a new contract are yet to begin, with Reds owners Fenway Sports Group at risk of losing him on a free transfer next summer if they fail to act swiftly.

It would certainly be a massive setback for Liverpool, given just how important Alexander-Arnold has been since breaking into their senior squad in 2016. Losing him without receiving a transfer fee would also make it harder for them to shell out the big bucks for an adequate replacement.

His team-mates would seemingly prefer him to stay at Anfield, with Diogo Jota among those to have expressed his admiration for the England defender. In a recent video for Goal, Jota was asked to blindly rank five players without knowing which name would be read out next.

Alexander-Arnold was the first player to be named, with Jota putting him second on the list. Bellingham was the next one to be mentioned, prompting Jota to pause for a moment before putting the Real Madrid ace behind his Liverpool colleague in third.

It is not just Reds players who have waxed lyrical about Alexander-Arnold, with Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice heaping praise on the right-back while on England duty at the Euros.

"He’s a player any country would appreciate," said Rice. "He’s a player we have to play, we have to get involved, and our attackers should be thriving playing off someone like Trent because his passing is off the scale."

Liverpool fans were recently sent into overdrive by an Anfield mosaic which appeared to hint that Alexander-Arnold was about to sign a fresh deal. The arrangement of seat coverings appeared to spell out either ‘66 2028’ or ‘66 2029’, his long-term squad number alongside the year until which he had potentially signed.

That theory has since been debunked, though, with the shape of the coverings purely a coincidence and likely due to windy weather on Merseyside.

The Reds are still widely expected to tie Alexander-Arnold down to a new contract, but it remains to be seen when negotiations will get underway. As things stand, he will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club from January meaning time is of the essence.