Trent Alexander-Arnold started this summer by making the biggest decision of his career – and he is now dealing with the consequences of that call.

Alexander-Arnold left behind his boyhood club Liverpool in controversial circumstances in order to join Real Madrid. For those not of a Liverpool persuasion, it was a brave and exciting move which saw him link up with Jude Bellingham under the management of Xabi Alonso.

The 26-year-old is extremely ambitious and previously admitted he would like to revolutionise the right-back position and win the Ballon d’Or. It’s still early days with Real, but it’s fair to say that things aren’t going to plan for Alexander-Arnold yet.

The initial excitement of the transfer has worn off and now the reality is beginning to bite in the Spanish capital. Here Mirror Football takes a look at how Alexander-Arnold is getting on at his new club.

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Real paid £8.4million to sign Alexander-Arnold before he became a free agent at the end of June. That was quite the premium and showed how much the club valued his presence at the Club World Cup in the United States this summer.

Alexander-Arnold went straight into the team, starting five straight matches and picking up two assists for Alonso’s side as they made it to the semi-finals. But he missed the semi-final with an injury and Real were demolished 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain as the tournament ended abruptly.

He immediately claimed the right-back position then, with Dani Carvajal still recovering from rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in October. But things would change quickly.

Alexander-Arnold was not under any illusions over his status at Real, knowing that Carvajal was on the comeback from an injury. The 33-year-old is a Real legend and wasn’t just going to surrender his position without a fight.

Alonso knew he couldn’t just sideline Carvajal and that competition for places was desirable. “It's not going to be about being fair or unfair, I'll just have to divide what's there,” he said before the start of the season when asked about the right-back position.

“I have many positions double-covered. This is one of those, with two exceptional players. Carva, who's been training hard and is much closer to his original level by now, and Trent, from Liverpool. That's amazing for improving the level of the squad. We're going to be playing tons of games and we need to have that top level.”

Alexander-Arnold won the initial battle when he started the opening La Liga match of the season against Osasuna last week. Real won the game 1-0, but it didn’t go to plan for the ex-Liverpool man on his first start in La Liga.

He gave away possession 15 times and was substituted in the 68th minute by Alonso. The manager’s decision went down extremely well with the fans, who gave Carvajal a standing ovation on his return from injury.

The Spanish media, especially those that follow Real Madrid, are known for their strong opinions – and Alexander-Arnold copped some serious stick in the aftermath of that game. Carvajal’s history at the club makes him a popular presence and therefore makes Alexander-Arnold task taller.

For the second La Liga game of the season, Alonso dropped Alexander-Arnold for Carvajal, who started the 3-0 win over Real Oviedo. The England international was limited to a few minutes as a late substitute – and then was fired a warning by his manager: rotation is unavoidable.

“It depends on what we need in terms of the game, the workload and the opposition,” Alonso said. “I haven't made a decision for the next month. I'm going to see how we recover and to make sure that people feel important and ready to start, come off the bench or be able to be in the next game.

“This is important for the stability of the team's performance. Today was a game to show that we're still improving. We want to continue like this, now we'll prepare for the Mallorca game before the break.

“We have twenty-odd players in the squad and I'm going to try to get the best out of all of them. Sometimes you can have a few minutes and be important, today Vini was important. My intention is that everyone contributes to the team. That's going to be the norm.”

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