Liverpool manager Arne Slot says defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is not distracted by rumours of a move to Real Madrid.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is fully committed to Liverpool, his manager Arne Slot has said amid rumoured interest in the England right-back, including from European champions Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold’s contract with the Reds expires at the end of the season, so he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club, outside of England, if he wishes.

Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the Spanish club was reportedly rebuffed when it made an initial inquiry about the 26-year-old in late December.

Slot was asked about the defender’s situation in a news conference before Liverpool’s match against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and he said he had had a conversation with Alexander-Arnold but would not divulge any details.

Asked if Alexander-Arnold would be staying at Liverpool beyond January, Slot only said: “I can tell you he is playing on Sunday, and hopefully he brings the same performances he brought in the past half-year.

“Everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. I see him on the training ground every day … he is fully committed to us.”

Slot added that he is sure Madrid’s pursuit of Alexander-Arnold is not affecting the defender. “If it would destabilise players at Liverpool that other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem,” Slot said. “Because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always, for 12 months long, will talk about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs.

“That happens so, so, so many times for our players, so if that destabilises them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but the past six months.”

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk also are out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season, with the former saying a new deal is “far away”.