‘Pressures imposed on a hometown player can be extreme… that could make Alexander-Arnold’s mind up’, says Deeney

THERE are several reasons why Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to leave Liverpool this summer.

Firstly, he has achieved pretty much everything he can at Anfield — and if he signs off with a Treble this season, then it will absolutely be a case of ‘job done’.

Secondly, the lure of Real Madrid is a temptation that few players can ever resist. They are the greatest and most famous club in the world.

But there’s another reason that may play a part in his decision-making — and that is the pressures imposed on a hometown player which can be extreme.

I experienced that in a very different way when I joined Birmingham City, the club I had always supported.

I was 33 then, towards the end of my career and the club was a shambles at that point, so that’s very different to Trent on both levels.

But in an age in which the ‘local hero’ has become a rarity, the added pressures can be really trying.

When you play for your local club, everyone in the fanbase thinks they know you.

Everyone thinks you should care more than the rest of the players — and, in a way, you do.

Many supporters will have played Sunday league football against you as a kid, or gone to school with you, or they know someone in your family.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

Or they see you in Asda and want to give you advice, or want to know what’s going on.

When I was at Birmingham, my mum went to work and every day someone said to her, ‘Tell Troy, Blues should do this or that’ and she would reply, ‘I haven’t told him what to do since he was 15!’

And heaven help you if you went out locally on the Saturday night after a defeat, even to a low-key family do, without any alcohol.

That is sacrilege when you are playing for your own club.

For Trent, at a club the size of Liverpool, those issues will be amplified further.

Don’t get me wrong, playing for — and especially skippering — the club I support was one of the absolute highlights of my career.

It was right up there with reaching an FA Cup final and spending five years as a Premier League captain.

Leading the Blues out at St Andrew’s was the thing that most made the little boy inside my head say, ‘Wow, how did we get here? This is epic’.

It was an enormous privilege — but being the local lad does take a toll.

The best thing for Trent would be to parade the Premier League trophy at Anfield and then head off into the Spanish sun

Troy Deeney

That will be another factor for Trent, who has spent nine years as a first-teamer at Anfield and has been the highest-profile Scouser at the club for almost all of that time.

Weirdly, if or when, he signs for Real, he will have less pressure because he won’t be a megastar like Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr or Jude Bellingham.

And he won’t be the local boy. He can just focus on being an excellent right-back.

Trent, who is out of contract this summer, has already been getting stick from supporters because he hasn’t signed a new deal — at a level which would not exist if he was not a Liverpool boy.

This is unfair to me — and as a player I struggled to fully understand it — but it’s a phenomenon that certainly exists.

I don’t think the idea of achieving complete legendary status at a club is a factor among modern players, as it may have been in the past.

While Steven Gerrard achieved that at Anfield, he did once hand in a transfer request, wanting to join Chelsea, before signing a new deal with the Reds.

And Steve McManaman is a Liverpool lad who made the move to the Bernabeu and that didn’t damage his legacy on Merseyside, as he is considered a great at both clubs — having won two European Cups with the Spanish side.

I don’t think Trent’s move will be done this month, despite Real making an approach, as that wouldn’t really suit any of the parties.

Liverpool need him as they fight on four fronts, while Trent can go on a free at the end of the season, earning him a bigger signing-on fee.

‘DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD’

Real are making a move now to protect against any other big-money interest from Saudi Arabia.

Trent will stay fully committed to the club for the rest of the season, even if he is effectively working his notice at Anfield.

Every other player in that dressing room will understand that Trent — like Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk — is either keeping his options open or preferring another challenge elsewhere.

But being a hometown hero can be a double-edged sword.

The best thing for Trent would be to parade the Premier League trophy at Anfield — perhaps along with two or three more pieces of silverware — and then head off into the Spanish sun.

RUBEN TIME TO LOOK ‘N’ LEARN

IF Manchester United can avoid a six-goal defeat at Anfield on Sunday, that would be a decent effort.

That’s how bad things are at Old Trafford — and how good things are for runaway Prem leaders Liverpool right now.

I think it’s a blessing in disguise for Ruben Amorim that United are having such a bad run early in his reign.

He will learn so much about his players’ characters and their abilities and will be able to make proper judgments about who he wants going forward.

Had United got a few more decent results after winning the Manchester derby, it would have only papered over the cracks and made it more difficult for Amorim to make those decisions.

He is being very honest about the situation and I feel the club need to hit rock-bottom — which they are close to but haven’t yet.

United should flog Casemiro to Saudi Arabia and end the Marcus Rashford saga by letting him go this month, while bringing in two or three players to add the energy and desire Amorim needs.

But only after a full pre-season and a busy summer of ins and outs can we properly judge Amorim.