Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold outlined their Premier League ambitions and expressed his delight at the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has expressed his excitement over the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, describing them as “dream players”.
The Reds acted quickly to strengthen their midfield options following the departures of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita following the expiry of their contracts.
Jurgen Klopp has highlighted Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Mac Allister as a late-season target as his £35m release clause came into effect in early June. A month later, RB Leipzig star and Hungary captain Szoboszlai was added to the squad after becoming the Reds’ fourth most expensive signing.
Liverpool activated their £60m release clause late last month, hours before it expired at midnight on 30 June. The 22-year-old was the second signing of the summer in the midfield lineup and Alexander-Arnold says it’s an exciting time for the club.
“Top players, exciting for the club, exciting for the team,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s always exciting when we sign new players to see how they come, how they fit and what they are like.
“[I’m] sure they already know, you can see from the outside we’re a welcoming team, good dressing room, come in, do your job and get results – that’s all we ask.
“We ask the players to agree with what we are doing, accept the plan and be willing to work hard and make sacrifices for the team.
I’m sure the boys will, they are technically excellent players who can receive the ball and play with the ball. For players like me who like to pass the ball, they are dream players.”
The 24-year-old will return to the AXA Training Center on Tuesday (11 July) with a number of international teammates to prepare for the season. Liverpool kick off their Premier League campaign at Chelsea as the Londoners start life under Mauricio Pochettino.
Last season was a season to forget for the Reds and Klopp after a string of highlights during his time in charge at Anfield.
With a disappointing Champions League exit and domestic cup performances, Liverpool salvaged a fifth-place finish after a difficult start to the season.
European football’s hopes looked dim at the turn of the year as they suffered a series of humiliating defeats to Brentford, Brighton and Wolves. But they have enjoyed a resurgence, bursting into the top four discussion before settling on Europa League football.
They finished 22 points behind future champions Manchester City and Alexander-Arnold claims the Reds already have the plan to challenge Pep Guardiola’s three-time winner and improve on their performance from last season.
“I think as a club you have to be honest. You know, we respect all the competitions we take part in, but if you had asked us at this time last year if you wanted to finish fifth, we would all have said No.
“Would we like to finish fifth next season? No. We want to win the league, we want to be challenging and be in the race for the title and in the Champions League, so it’s disappointing not to be there next season.”
“We know how to win the league, we know how to challenge City and we have to compete with them and you have to be close to perfect all season, so for us that’s where our heads are.”
