Real Madrid’s chances of landing Trent Alexander-Arnold in what could be the biggest free agent transfer of the summer are getting stronger by the day.

Alexander-Arnold is out of contract with Liverpool at the end of June, meaning there are just three-and-a-half months until the Reds would be forced to release him if no new deal is agreed.

The right-back, who was the subject of an ambitious lowball approach from Madrid during the recent January transfer window, is already eligible to formally sign a pre-contract with a non-English club.

The latest update on the developing saga is a major boost in Madrid’s favour. Sky Sport Germany’s Florian Plettenberg claims that the likelihood of Alexander-Arnold heading to the Bernabeu as a free agent this summer are now higher than him inking fresh terms at Anfield.

Liverpool are “not giving up”, but it is clear that time is not on their side.

Alexander-Arnold is in a very different boat to Liverpool teammates Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, who are also nearing the end of their respective contracts and could soon move on. Unlike his veteran colleagues, the England defender is 26 and firmly in his peak years. Leaving Liverpool wouldn’t just be a retirement move for him, but a move that could define a major part of his career.

Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman made the same move from Merseyside to the Spanish capital, also as a free agent, with certain parallels to that 1999 switch.

Jamie Carragher, another ex-Liverpool star, expressed concern as far back as October that Alexander-Arnold’s desire to make history by becoming the first full-back to win the Ballon d’Or could be what pushes him more towards Madrid, over staying at Liverpool.