Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has confirmed that Conor Bradley will start against Arsenal on Sunday as the Reds prepare for life without Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The latter announced on Monday that he would be departing his boyhood club at the expiration of his contract this summer, confirming what was one of the worst-kept secrets in English football.
Alexander-Arnold did not publicly reveal his next destination, but it is seemingly set in stone that the England international will be joining Real Madrid, who are pushing to sign him a couple of weeks early in order for him to play in the Club World Cup.
Liverpool are expected to enter the market for a new right-back this summer, but Alexander-Arnold's deputy Bradley has proven his worth to the Reds over the past two seasons during his superior's absence.
Speaking to the press for the first time since Alexander-Arnold was confirmed to be leaving, Slot revealed that the Real Madrid-bound defender would be on the bench against Arsenal on Sunday as Bradley makes just a fifth Premier League start of the season.
Bradley to start against Arsenal ahead of Alexander-Arnold exit
© Imago
"Conor will start on Sunday as he needs playing time to get games under his belt to be better prepared for next season," Slot said, while also giving his general reaction to the news of Alexander-Arnold's exit.
"I think, like everybody who likes Liverpool and who is a fan of Liverpool, we are disappointed for him leaving because not only [is] a good human being leaving the club but a very, very, very good full-back is leaving us as well," he added.
"I also worked at clubs, like AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, where every season a very good or multiple very good players have left the club. So, I'm a bit more used to it maybe that players [are] leaving the club.
"The experience I have – and, by the way, this club as well – that if a very good player is leaving, the next very good player will step up, and that's probably what's going to happen now again as well."
A handful of names have been tipped to move to Liverpool as Alexander-Arnold's replacement, namely Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong, whom the Premier League champions could reportedly sign for under £30m this summer.
Slot names three other internal Alexander-Arnold replacements for Liverpool
© Imago
However, Slot also name-checked another three players as capable right-backs in a post-Alexander-Arnold world, including Joe Gomez, who has a wealth of experience at full-back but has been hit with injuries in recent times.
Centre-back Jarell Quansah and midfielder Curtis Jones have also been fielded on that side under Slot, who kept his cards close to his chest when asked about Liverpool dipping into their warchest for new signings.
"And we have got Conor Bradley and I have played Curtis Jones over there, so four players that can play that position," he added. "With, I agree with you, one of them that [it] is the ideal position and Joe Gomez can play there really well, in my opinion, but maybe his favourite position would be centre-back, I agree with you.
"And for Jarell it's the same. I think it would be a surprise to you if I would tell you now, yes, we are looking at this or we're looking at that – we don't talk about contracts over here [in the press room], we don't talk about the positions or if we want to improve the team in certain areas."
Like Gomez, Bradley has also struggled to stay fit this season, being restricted to 26 appearances across all competitions due to a pair of hamstring and muscular injuries.
Ben Knapton
