Real Madrid will wait until the January transfer window to begin negotiating for Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, a report has claimed.

Alexander-Arnold has entered the final year of his Liverpool contract and will be free to negotiate with clubs overseas once 2025 arrives, sparking significant fears among Reds fans that their homegrown star could walk away on a free transfer.

Madrid’s interest in Alexander-Arnold emerged earlier this year but has ramped up in the wake of Dani Carvajal’s season-ending injury.

As reported by MARCA, Madrid will not rush their pursuit of Alexander-Arnold. The plan is to wait until January before making formal contact, as is the case with Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies.

Madrid’s interest is no secret and the La Liga giants have made it clear that Alexander-Arnold must heed the advice given to many of the club’s major targets in recent years – rebuff interest from elsewhere to make it clear he truly wants to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The report claims Alexander-Arnold is “allowing himself to be wooed” by Madrid, who could even explore a January transfer if the finances are right.

One potential issue, however, could be comments made by Alexander-Arnold in 2020, in which he expressed a love for Barcelona.

“I’d say my favourite other team would be Barca,” he told GQ. “I feel as though they’ve got kind of the same values and beliefs as Liverpool.”

READ THE LATEST TRANSFER NEWS & GOSSIP FROM AROUND THE WORLD