Arne Slot delivers first update on Trent Alexander-Arnold since Real Madrid approach to sign Liverpool’s right-back in January

Arne Slot says Trent Alexander-Arnold is ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool and has been ‘working his a*** off’ in training sessions amid intense speculation and interest from Real Madrid to sign him this month.

The European champions made an approach earlier this week to sign Alexander-Arnold, 26, in January and are willing to pay money for him now rather than getting him on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer.

Liverpool rebuffed that approach and would be expected to reject any official bids that are forthcoming in the next few days. And though Slot refused to rule out his right back leaving this month, the boss said Alexander-Arnold is fully focused on Liverpool right now.

Asked if he could categorically say Alexander-Arnold will not leave in January, Slot said: ‘I can tell you he is playing on Sunday (against Manchester United) and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year.

‘Everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. He played an incredible game against West Ham, we all remember the pass he gave to Mo (Salah).

‘I see him on the training ground every day working his ass off. He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday – if they don’t tell me he is sick! But I don’t expect them to.’

Slot (right) insists the defender is ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool despite links to Real Madrid

He also revealed that Joe Gomez (above) is set to ‘miss a few weeks’ with a hamstring injury

Slot was pushed whether the developing saga could derail Liverpool’s title bid and added: ‘If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them then we would really have a problem.

‘Because if you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world everybody is always – for 12 months long – talking about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs. That happens so, so many times for our players… so if that destabilises them, we really would have had a problem.

‘Not only now but in the last six months because there were some talks about our players in the last six months and I don’t think it destabilised them at all.’

Meanwhile, Slot confirmed that Joe Gomez is set to miss at least ‘a few weeks’ with the hamstring injury he suffered at West Ham last week – but fellow defenders Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley will train with the team for the first time today as they step up their recovery.