Liverpool find their Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement and you won’t have heard of him

Trent Alexander-Arnold will be leaving Liverpool as things stand. The right-back is out of contract in the summer and there is remarkably little talk about a new deal.

Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk are in the same boat, of course, but you do hear updates. At the very least, they're both happy to talk about the situation in public.

Alexander-Arnold seemingly isn't. He hasn't addressed his contract situation at all and for us, that's a big red flag.

Real Madrid are certainly interested. You can tell that purely from the press campaign but they also attempted to sign him in January.

A bid on New Year's Eve attempted to pressure Liverpool into taking a lump sum for releasing the Scouser early. They wouldn't - and rightly so.

Regardless, it does still look increasingly like Alexander-Arnold is off. That would leave Conor Bradley as the sole right-back in the squad - and Liverpool won't be happy with that.

A replacement would be needed for the vice-captain and it appears Liverpool have found one. And he's not a known name.

Liverpool watch Wesley

There's real hype around Flamengo right-back Wesley right now. He's been their starting right-back for the last two years, helping the team with the Brazilian cup in 2024.

Wesley was also in the Brazilian Serie A Team of the Year as he played 31 games. Now Liverpool wonder if he could step up to the Premier League.

UOL reports that Liverpool have Wesley in their sights. They've apparently been watching him for the last year, a period that saw Flamengo reject offers from Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

Zenit St. Petersburg also tried to sign Wesley, putting €25m on the table. Flamengo rejected that - and would apparently want around €30m to let him go.

Liverpool will keep an eye on the Club World Cup this summer, where Wesley will feature. If he performs well, there's a very good chance that Richard Hughes pushes forward on a deal.

After all, Bournemouth's bid last summer came shortly after Hughes left as sporting director. It would have been him who established Wesley as a summer target in the first place - so it's no surprise that Liverpool retain a strong interest.

This really could be one to watch, then. Wesley may be the Alexander-Arnold replacement - even if he's one no one saw coming.