Jamie Carragher believes Trent Alexander-Arnold made "a big mistake" joining Real Madrid and would welcome the right-back returning to Liverpool. The former Liverpool defender also praised the impact of new centre-back Jeremy Jacquet in helping relieve the pressure on skipper Virgil van Dijk.
Difficult Spell at Real Madrid
Alexander-Arnold has struggled at Real Madrid following his move to the Bernabeu in June 2025 for a £10million fee shortly before his Liverpool contract expired. The 28-year-old made only 22 starts last season and was left out of England's World Cup squad. This term he has been on the bench for four of the last six games under Real boss Jose Mourinho and featured for just a handful of minutes in Sunday's 2-1 La Liga win at Barcelona.
Carragher, a one-time Liverpool right-back, believes both player and club would be best served by an Anfield reunion. "At the moment, he's actually third choice right-back for Real Madrid," he said. "They're playing a midfield player at right-back, so even in El Clasico, Denzel Dumfries, the first-choice right-back, comes on as a sub. So when you're third choice at a club, they're obviously wanting you to move on.
"I'd have him back. I think he made a big mistake (leaving). But if something benefits Liverpool Football Club going forward, when you think of the problems Liverpool have in terms of the right-back... Ronnie (Ronald Araujo) has been fantastic but we do have a problem in terms of full-backs passing. We've definitely missed his (Alexander-Arnold's) creativity."
Jacquet's Immediate Impact
Another Liverpool defender, Ibrahima Konate, also moved to Real Madrid in the summer, prompting £60million arrival Jacquet to be immediately elevated to first-choice centre-back alongside Van Dijk. Carragher believes the France international is already an upgrade on the departed Konate.
"It's to do with Virgil's age as well, but it almost feels like he's the first centre-back who's starting to look after Virgil a little bit rather than the other way around," he said. "And even though he's only played eight games (in the Premier League), I already feel he's an upgrade on everybody else Virgil's played alongside.
"I know it's early to say that, but he really does look the part, doesn't he? And Virgil was always going to need that at some stage where he just has to play his own game. He can't look after a back four. He can't look after a centre-back partner. I think we're at that stage now with Van Dijk, still playing well, but he should just be left to play his own game."
