Allardyce urges Alexander-Arnold to quit Real Madrid and return to Liverpool if starts stay scarce

Sam Allardyce has publicly backed a Trent Alexander-Arnold return to Liverpool, arguing the 27-year-old should leave Real Madrid if he cannot nail down a starting place during what the former England manager calls the peak years of his career.

Alexander-Arnold has struggled to establish himself since joining the Spanish club in a £10 million deal last summer. Injuries hampered his debut campaign, and this season he has been largely second choice to Netherlands international Denzel Dumfries, starting just two of Madrid’s opening seven La Liga fixtures. He was an unused substitute in their 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid last weekend and has yet to convince the club he is the long-term successor to Dani Carvajal.

“At 27, Trent still has years ahead of him. This is his prime,” Allardyce said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. “He’s at Real Madrid, and his experience there should stand him in good stead to be even better than he was when he left Liverpool, even though he hasn’t played as often as he would’ve liked.”

Allardyce was direct about the threshold Alexander-Arnold needs to meet. “If he is going to be a Real Madrid player then this season he needs to be playing more than ever — if not, he should come back to the Premier League. Liverpool could do with him back. He’s capable of opening the opposition up.”

The former Bolton and Newcastle boss also pushed back on long-standing criticism of Alexander-Arnold’s defensive work, contextualising it within broader trends at right-back. “There have always been question marks over his defending, and rightly so, but that’s the same for most right-backs now,” he said. “When Liverpool weren’t quite as good under Jurgen Klopp as they had been for a few years and they started conceding more goals, his defending got pointed out by everyone.”

Despite his limited club minutes, Alexander-Arnold has earned a recall to the England squad under Thomas Tuchel for upcoming Nations League fixtures — a decision Allardyce endorsed. “His quality on the ball and ability to open up the opposition, whether it’s with short or long passes, are massive assets to England. I’m glad to see him back,” he added.