Liverpool gets Mason Mount transfer ‘encouragement’ as Trent Alexander-Arnold problem flagged
Welcome to Liverpool.com’s daily Media Digest. From broadcasts to tweets, it can be difficult to keep up with everything that’s going on in the Anfield sphere. Believable, unbelievable and everything in between, we’re bringing it all together in one place and taking a sideways look at the day’s media happenings from around the world.
***
Liverpool identify sporting director candidate
Liverpool will lose Julian Ward at the end of the season, with Michael Edwards’ successor stepping down after a single season in the role. This time the club is expected to look externally to fill the position.
The name of Paul Mitchell, the England sporting director who has built a solid reputation at Monaco, has previously been mentioned speculatively. And The Athletic have now confirmed his name has been “strongly considered” at Liverpool. However, he is expected to expire on his contract in the principality, which would keep him there until 2024.
Now another candidate has come up for discussion with Eintracht Frankfurt’s sports director Markus Krösche. Joining from RB Leipzig he helped oversee a Europa League triumph and his side are now in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
CONTINUE READING: Latest Liverpool injury news as four players miss Real Madrid and Darwin Núñez update given
CONTINUE READING: Sadio Mané surprisingly votes the former Liverpool star as ‘best finisher’ he has played with
Certainly among his best deals was the free transfer of Randal Kolo Muani, now linked to a $107m (£89m/€100m) move, with Liverpool reportedly even among the contenders (L’Equipe). But the process of recruiting a new sporting director is still in the ‘early stages’.
Mount ‘Encouragement’
According to the same The Athletic column, Liverpool have received potential “encouragement” in their apparent pursuit of Mason Mount.
David Ornstein reports that ‘several offers’ from Chelsea have been turned down by Mount. That is why the club have dropped talks, most likely until the summer – by then the academy graduate has just 12 months left on his existing contract.
Calls are “picked up” again. But the summer’s equation is reportedly clear: “Secure new terms or agree to a sale.”
There certainly seems to be a very real possibility that Mount will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge in the not too distant future. And it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Liverpool at the front of the queue.
Sign up for our EXCLUSIVE Liverpool.com newsletter!
Alexander Arnold problem
Trent Alexander-Arnold faces a tough night against Real Madrid. He is likely to face Vinícius Júnior, one of football’s greatest talents, and his much-lauded defensive work will come under renewed scrutiny.
Liverpool will be confident he can handle the situation. It doesn’t seem that long ago that he came of age against Leroy Sané, who didn’t stand a chance that night. And since then, Alexander-Arnold has celebrated many more defensive triumphs, not least in the last two games.
Still, any full-back would struggle to keep Vinícius quiet – especially when a yellow card means a ban. Unfortunately, according to ECHO, Alexander-Arnold has already received two warnings in the Champions League, so a third would mean an automatic one-game ban.
Were Alexander-Arnold to miss the second leg, Jurgen Klopp would be faced with a direct choice between Joe Gomez and James Milner, with Calvin Ramsay ruled out for the season (and certainly not having signed up for the competition after making room in January) .
Accumulated bookings will be deleted after the quarter-finals.