Liverpool have just been handed nightmare transfer scenario they have to avoid

Liverpool could find themselves facing something of a nightmare scenario when their Champions League schedule is confirmed on Saturday. The Reds found out their eight league phase opponents in Thursday’s draw following the expanded tournament’s revamp for this season.

Their toughest clashes will see Arne Slot’s men host reigning European champions Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield, while they also face a trip to AC Milan. Lille and Bologna will also make trips to Merseyside, while Liverpool will face RB Leipzig, PSV Eindhoven and Girona away from home.

With the Champions League now being a 36-team tournament, sides are scheduled to play their final two league matches at the end of January.

And that could leave the Reds in a rather awkward position as speculation regarding the futures of some of their star players continues.

Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah all remain out of contract next summer and will be free to sign pre-contract agreements with overseas clubs from January.

All three have been linked with Real Madrid in the past, though it is the England international who is reportedly on the La Liga giants’ radar as they monitor his situation ahead of his contract expiring at the end of the season.

If Liverpool’s home meeting with Real Madrid was scheduled for the end of January, with the final two rounds of league fixtures due to take place on January 21/22 and January 29, the La Liga giants would be free to hold talks with Alexander-Arnold regarding a possible Bosman transfer prior to their trip to Anfield.

As a result, it is possible that the defender could have even already agreed terms with Real Madrid when the two sides lock horns. Alternatively, such a meeting between the two sides on the pitch could also open the door to a potential meeting between player and club, given the fact that representatives from the La Liga giants will already be in the city.

Then consider the fact that Alexander-Arnold has already lost two Champions League finals to Real Madrid, and been eliminated from the tournament by the Spanish occasions on a further two occasions.

The emotional impact from a further meeting with the La Liga giants cannot be overlooked, should the defender be pondering where he wants to spend the next stage of his career and which side would offer the best opportunity to win major silverware in the future.

While their vice-captain’s future remains uncertain, such hypothetical scenarios are far from ideal from the Reds and could become a growing unwanted distraction.

The ECHO reported last month that there had been nothing to suggest Alexander-Arnold was angling to leave, while that has since been followed up by the defender being determined not to have talks over his future be played out in public out of respect for his boyhood club.

However, inevitable speculation and uncertainty regarding his future will continue as a result for as long as his contract status remains unresolved.

Once the transfer window closes, there will be even more focus on the aforementioned trio’s expiring contracts, given that they would be free to agree Bosman transfers in 123 days' time from January 1.

Van Dijk and Salah have both danced around recent questions about their futures, while Alexander-Arnold avoided them altogether after Liverpool’s Premier League opening victory away at Ipswich Town. Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes have also sidestepped any such questioning when it comes to the soon-to-be out-of-contract trio.

While Real Madrid are by no means guaranteed to visit Anfield in January, the reigning European champions’ visit to Merseyside still offers a fresh reminder of a threat the Reds could well find themselves having to stave off off the pitch in the months ahead regardless.

The Champions League has perhaps handed extra motivation to resolve Alexander-Arnold’s future sooner rather than later. After all, the only way to silence the aforementioned speculation and uncertainty, and cut off any possible distractions in the process, will be the sight of the Liverpool vice-captain putting pen to paper with his boyhood club as soon as possible.