Pain in Spain: Why former Liverpool team-mates Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott might not last long in La Liga
· Yahoo Sports
Neither player's move to Spain is working out particularly well, meaning both could be on the bench at Mestalla on Saturday night - if they're lucky
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Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott haven't played on the same pitch since the final few minutes of Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on May 25 of last year. It was a day of mixed emotions for both boyhood fans of the Reds.
Alexander-Arnold had already gone public with his difficult decision to leave Liverpool on a free transfer, while it was clear that Elliott's days on Merseyside were also numbered after a season spent playing the role of super-sub.
However, neither man could have hoped to bow out in more celebratory circumstances, as Arne Slot's Liverpool were presented with the Premier League trophy after the game at a jubilant Anfield.
That joyous occasion might well come up if Elliott and Alexander-Arnold get a chance to chat at Mestalla on Saturday evening, before or after the Liga meeting between their respective new clubs, Valencia and Real Madrid.
As it stands, though, the chances of them actually getting to share a field again are slim at best, as neither player's spell in Spain is going according to plan at all...
Fantastic first impression
The Englishman surprised the Madrid - and Liverpool - media by speaking Spanish in his first press conferenceOf the two former team-mates, Alexander-Arnold was obviously expected to make the bigger impact in La Liga. Alexander-Arnold had won pretty much all there was to win at Liverpool and, in doing so, had established himself as arguably the most exciting right-back in world football.
He wasn't satisfied, though, and not even the probability of becoming club captain after Virgil van Dijk's eventual departure could convince him to stay at Anfield beyond the summer of 2025.
Alexander-Arnold wanted to redefine the role of right-back and, whatever one might think about his defensive deficiencies, he unquestionably had the attacking game to excel at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid certainly concurred, and they were so desperate to bring him on board that they even agreed to pay Liverpool £8.3 million ($11.1m) for a player with just one month left on his contract so that they could have him for the Club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold also made a fantastic first impression at his new club by speaking Spanish at his official unveiling as a Madrid player, but despite mastering a language that his team-mate, compatriot and good friend Jude Bellingham is still struggling with, the defender has not settled anywhere near as seamlessly into his new surroundings.
'It hurts me'
Jose Mourinho says he feels bad about relegating Alexander-Arnold to the role of third-choice right-back at MadridAlexander-Arnold stated in his first press conference that he couldn't wait to "show [his game], win many titles and become a champion" - but he's not realised any of those goals yet.
There are, of course, some mitigating circumstances. Alexander-Arnold's first season in Spain was repeatedly interrupted by injuries, thus preventing him from building up any momentum. A change of coach didn't help either, with Xabi Alonso sacked in January and replaced by the hapless Alvaro Arbeloa. Only now, under Jose Mourinho, are Madrid starting to look like a stable side again.
The thing is, though, while 'The Special One' has, for the time being at least, proven a positive development for Los Blancos, it's been nothing but negative for Alexander-Arnold.
He moved to Madrid with the intention of proving himself the best right-back of all time - but Mourinho doesn't even think he's the second-best right-back at the Bernabeu, with Denzel Dumfries and, even more gallingly, midfielder Federico Valverde both ahead of him in the pecking order.
Mourinho has expressed some sympathy for the unexpectedly dire situation Alexander-Arnold now finds himself in, but that doesn't mean he's going to do anything to help him find a way out of it.
"It hurts me. I don't like making players feel bad; I prefer them to feel good," Mourinho told reporters. "When you build a squad with two players per position and end up playing a third (Valverde), it's not something I appreciate...
"But there are things more important than these feelings, things that matter more for the team at a given moment. I felt we needed to change our midfield and play Fede in that position. It was a decision made for the team, not based on individual players."
Alexander-Arnold did, at least, play the entirety of last weekend's 3-0 victory over Racing Santander but it was just his fourth start of the Liga season, and came after getting just one minute of game time in the Clasico win over Barcelona at Camp Nou.
He was also an unused substitute for the third Champions League game in a row in midweek, as Madrid maintained their good run of form by picking up all three points from their trip to Greece to face AEK Athens thanks to a late goal from Valverde.
As a result, it's difficult to know whether he'll see any action at all against Valencia - or be once again left sitting on the bench. Unfortunately for Elliott, there's no guarantee whether he'll even be included in Javier Aguirre's matchday squad.
From bad to worse?
Elliott had a nightmare loan spell at Villa Park, and his stay at Mestalla has started disastrouslyWhen Elliott joined Aston Villa on loan from Liverpool last summer, with a view to a permanent transfer, it looked like one of those rare deals that suits everyone involved. As it transpired, nobody benefited, least of all Elliott, who essentially lost an entire year of his career because Unai Emery didn't want a player signed by former sporting director Monchi.
The coach couldn't fault Elliott for effort or professionalism. He just didn't think he was worth £35m ($47m), so the two-time Under-21 European champions was prevented from making 10 Premier League appearances for Villa, as that would have triggered the obligation-to-buy clause in his contract.
It was a complete farce, one that Emery admitted was incredibly unfair on Elliott. "I feel sorry for the boy," the Spaniard said. Crazy as it may seem, though, there's a case to be made that Elliott's move to Mestalla has actually been even more damaging - at least from a reputational perspective.
After arriving in Valencia on deadline day, the 23-year-old has been involved in six Liga games - but started none of them. Worse still, he was sent off just 19 minutes after coming on in the 2-1 loss to Villarreal on October 21 after picking up two bookings in quick succession for dissent - much to the understandably fury of Aguirre, who replaced Carlos Corberan as the club's permanent coach the month before.
"I don't know what he could have said to the referee, he barely speaks Spanish," the former Mexico coach said, "so getting sent off for something he said just makes me angry. It's an absurd, ridiculous dismissal, and I told him as much."
As a result of his red card, Elliott was banned for last weekend's game against Elche, and given 19th-placed Valencia picked up their first win since the middle of September without him, it seems he'll see few minutes - if any - against Madrid.
Indeed, amid reports that Elliott arrived in Spain in poor physical condition, and has yet to register a goal or assist for Valencia, there is already talk of his loan stay being terminated during the winter transfer window, particularly as the sporting director that signed him, Ron Gourlay, was sacked on the same day as Corberan.
Funnily enough, Alexander-Arnold is also being linked with a return to Liverpool in 2027, given he's 28 now and can ill-afford to spend the season as Madrid's third-choice right-back if he wants to keep his place in Thomas Tuchel's England squad.
The word coming out of his camp is that he is determined to stay and fight for his place in Mourinho's team but, at this particular point in time, it actually does feel as if there's more of a chance of Alexander-Arnold and Elliott sharing a pitch again at Anfield rather than anywhere else.