Didi Hamann Exclusive: This is the Last Chance For Alexander-Arnold to Realise Madrid Dream
In an exclusive interview with Slotswise, Didi Hamann, former Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, spoke about the contract situations of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah, and Virgil van Dijk. Drawing parallels to former captain Steven Gerrard’s transfer saga two decades ago, he shared his thoughts on the uncertainty surrounding the trio and potential replacements. Hamann also discussed how Arne Slot’s Liverpool is built for long-term sustainability in football’s demanding schedule and gave his take on Thomas Tuchel’s chances as England manager.
Full interview
Q: Firstly, what are your reactions to the Liverpool Ipswich game and how do you think Liverpool’s title chances are looking with 16 games left?
“It was another very professional performance from Liverpool against Ipswich. They were 3-0 up at halftime and very comfortable throughout the whole game. During the first game of the season, Liverpool played Ipswich, and they had big problems with them, so changed a couple of things at halftime, and ended up winning the game.
“I think it shows how far the team has come since then and obviously it puts Liverpool in a very strong position. 22 games played now, 16 left, obviously with the game in hand. Everybody expects them to be nine points ahead after that game is played, but obviously the game has to be won first.
“I think apart from Arsenal, there’s probably nobody in the league now who can catch them. So it does look like a two horse race now and Liverpool are in a very, very strong position to win the title.”
Q: The January transfer window closes in a few days. What do Liverpool need to do to ensure they win the title?
“I’m not sure Liverpool need to do anything this January in terms of transfers. Things are going well and don’t forget, they only brought one player in in the summer in Chiesa who came very late and has not really played an awful lot of minutes because of injury.
“The team is performing so well, so if nobody leaves, I don’t really see the need to bring anyone in. There was talk about Nunez going to Saudi Arabia and if that doesn’t materialize, I don’t see much reason to bring somebody in, it’s very hard in January because players are more expensive than in the summer.
“Clubs don’t want to lose their best players in January, so it’s hard for Liverpool to improve their squad. If nobody leaves, which I expect, I don’t see any reason to strengthen.”
Q: You mentioned Darwin Nunez there. Do you think that it would be a mistake letting him go?
“The thing with Darwin Nunez is, a lot has been talked about his finishing or his lack of ability to finish. I still think he’s a very important player for Liverpool because when he does play, he always does a job for the team. And you know, with centre forwards, often if they don’t score, they don’t really contribute, but with Nunez, he contributes even if he doesn’t score, because he creates space, he always occupies two or three defenders with his physicality and pace.
“I wouldn’t like to see him go. I think people may say, ‘well, he doesn’t play an awful lot and he hasn’t scored an awful lot of goals’, but I still think it will harm Liverpool’s chances to win the league if they were to let him go. Obviously, they will still be in a very strong position, but they shouldn’t let Nunez leave.”
Q: What are your overall thoughts on the ongoing saga between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid? Do you think Liverpool can afford to let him leave and or do they have a choice?
“They haven’t got a choice! If he decides to leave, if he wants to go to Madrid, then that’s up to him. That’s his decision. His contract is up in the summer and I’m a bit surprised that nothing has come out about his future in the last few weeks. We are at the end of January and obviously the player is allowed to sign for another club, or would have been allowed to sign for the last four or four and a half weeks, and we haven’t heard anything.
“Maybe he is still contemplating staying at Liverpool. There’s been talk that Liverpool have made him a few offers and the longer we don’t hear anything, there’s still a chance he does stay. But you know, if Real Madrid comes calling, I think it’s very hard to turn down. And you know, if you were to leave them, I think you can’t fault him.”
Q: He’s playing for his boyhood club. He’s winning trophies. He’s playing every week, and a lot of people see him as a future captain of Liverpool. Why do you think he would want to leave that? Is it just about wanting a new challenge, or is it something else?
“He’s in his late twenties now, and it’s probably his last chance, because if he signs another four years with Liverpool he’ll be in his 30s, it’ll be a lot harder to get that kind of move. Going to a club like Madrid, sometimes you only get the chance once, and obviously that’s a decision you’ve got to make.
“Would I like to see him still playing for Liverpool next season? Yes, of course I would. But at the same time, you know, sometimes to play abroad is something different and it’s a great opportunity.
“When you look back at your career and you can say you played for Madrid for three or four years and maybe won a few things there, that is incredible. It enhances careers, and also enhances you as a person you know. Because if you live abroad, learning a new culture, learning a new language, it widens your horizon, and improves you as a person.”
Q: He’s seen his England teammate in Jude Bellingham go there and become beloved by the fans and play so well, do you think that would make that transition a little bit easier?
“Trent would have spoken to Bellingham for sure. He won the Champions League in his first season and was one of their star players. Trent will be seeing that to be successful with a club like Real Madrid, with the history they’ve got, it is something else. Bellingham might play a role there in helping Trent go to Madrid. But at the end of the day, the player has to make the decision.
“A lot of English players in my time didn’t really want to go abroad. There were hardly any English players playing abroad. Now it has changed a little, and English players are having success in other countries. It’s a decision he has to make, and I’m sure he will be a success in Spain.”
Q: Reports are that Joshua Kimmich could be joining Liverpool once his contract at Bayern is up. Do you think he would be a good replacement for Alexander-Arnold?
“I think Kimmich’s best position is right back, but he plays in the middle now for Bayern Munich. He’s a captain of the German national team and similar to Trent, Kimmich has been in Munich for a very long time and he may feel it is time to leave for a new challenge. He has to make the decision whether he wants to leave.
“Bayern wants him to stay, but whether they can agree a contract that both sides are happy with is up in the air at the moment. In my opinion, in Connor Bradley, they’ve got a fantastic young player there and if Trent were to leave, you probably have a replacement in your ranks already, So I think that that eases the pressure a little bit of Liverpool and makes bringing in a player like Kimmich less of a priority.”
Q: And if Kimmich were to join, what do you think would be the main differences in how Liverpool would play with him in comparison to Trent Alexander-Arnold?
“I think they’re pretty similar. They’re technically both very gifted. Kimmich is probably a bit better defensively than Trent, but he also likes to join in attacks, he likes to go forward as well. He’s a versatile player that can play in the middle as well and cover Liverpool’s midfield too.
“Of course, his delivery is obviously not as good as Trent’s, because Trent’s is probably second to none in world football. But I think in terms of characteristics, how they play or how they want to play that role. I think they’re pretty similar.”
Q: Do you think that Liverpool will sign Mo Salah to the contract he obviously wants, and as it continues to go on, will it take a toll on him as the season goes on with that in the back of his mind?
“It’s a very strange situation for Liverpool to have three key players that have been vital for so long for them in a very successful period of time for the club not having signed contracts is very strange.
“With Mo Salah now, I think he made it pretty clear that he does want to leave. So hopefully Liverpool can sort something out because he’s probably playing as well as he ever has.
“Sometimes in these situations when your future is uncertain, you want a bit of security, and that uncertainty sometimes doesn’t help. At the moment, you’ve got to say it doesn’t seem to harm his performances, because he’s playing so well. The team is playing well. Could that affect his form late in the season? Well, it hasn’t affected him so far. So, you know, Salah seems to be a very cool customer and he will continue to perform at this high level.”
Q: How do you think the current Liverpool squad and staff will be dealing with ambiguity over their three star players future? Are there similarities between this and in 2005 when Gerrard was heavily linked to Chelsea?
“Yeah, obviously the players will be reading about it, but you don’t really talk about it in the dressing room, because at the end of the day, it’s their decision. With Steven Gerrard, he was our captain, we just won the Champions League and there was talk about him leaving the season before and throughout the summer.
“Obviously, the players in the squad now won’t want to see Van Dijk, Trent or Salah go, but they don’t know what the players want. With Gerrard it was a bit different, because he was obviously contracted to Liverpool and it wasn’t about his contract running out. I don’t think it did affect the team at the time. But you know, as a player you always want the best players at the club, because it gives you a better chance to win trophies. Obviously, everybody in the dressing room was happy when Steven Gerrard decided to stay in 2005.
“On the other hand, in a way, it might galvanise the squad this year, because the players might think, well, we’ve got to make the most of you while you are here. and we’ve got to win the league this year, and if possible, the Champions League, because if one goes, or if two go, or maybe all three of them go, which is still a possibility, it obviously lowers their chances for next season to win these trophies.”
Q: The Trent and Salah contracts are getting a lot of media attention, but it seems like Van Dijk possibly leaving is going under the radar. Why do you think that is?
“It’s interesting with Van Dijk where there are two other players who haven’t signed their contracts: one is a local boy, local hero, and the other guy has scored over 200 goals for the club and hardly missed 10 games in 10 years, which is unheard of for a center forward or an offensive player.
“My gut feeling is that Van Dijk is the most likely to stay of the three players. I think there’s still a good chance with Salah, maybe a little less chance with Trent. It is a strange situation with Van Dijk because there’s no reason to drag it out, they should have wanted to get this done sooner, and if Van Dijk signs, it maybe gives Salah and Trent a little push to say, ‘well if he stays, I want to stay as well’ and it will give everybody a lift and a boost, which could be vital in the run in of the season.”
“The person who probably suffers the most from this situation is probably the manager, even though he has kept very quiet about the topic, because these things do not help. I’ve got a feeling and from what I hear is that, with Van Dijk, pretty soon we are going to find out that he has extended his contract.”
Q: Murillo put in a fantastic performance against Liverpool a few weeks ago, and has been linked with the club a lot. Do you think he could be a good addition whether or not Van Dijk can’t agree a deal?
“Murillo is a brilliant player, and he’s one of the reasons why Forest are doing so well, even though they got beaten heavily at the weekend. I do think Van Dijk will stay, but they might still want to bring somebody in like Murillo in the Summer, because Gomez and Konate have quite a few injury problems. He loves to defend and is great on the ball so I think Murillo should certainly be a player who’s on Liverpool’s radar.”
Q: Martin Zubimendi is seemingly going to Arsenal in the summer despite Liverpool links for a number of years – Do you think they’ll regret missing out on him?
“With Zubimendi, If a player decides he doesn’t want to join you then there’s not much you can do. The way Liverpool have done their business in the last few years, it’s always been a bit different from other teams, and maybe they weren’t aggressive enough in trying to bring him in.”
“If he wants to go to Arsenal, good luck to him. Because, you know, if somebody decides to go somewhere else, you know, I wouldn’t waste too much time thinking about it. If you want to be successful, you need players who want to be at the club, and it seems Zubimendi wants to be somewhere else. And as I say, good luck to him at Arsenal.”
Q: Harvey Elliot got a goal in the Champions League last week but has struggled for game time this year. Does he need to move to a new club to push on his career or should he knuckle down and fight for his place at Liverpool?
“When a new manager comes in, some players will benefit and some won’t. Harvey Elliot is probably a good example of that, who probably suffered a little bit under the managerial change. The reason he’s not playing that much is because Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones have been so good, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“Elliot is still a very valuable player for Liverpool. And you know, if you look at the amount of games, you need players who are happy sometimes with playing 20 to 24 games a season instead of every game, and he’s still so young. Most important is when he does come into the side, whether that’s starting on the bench that he performs and works hard for the team, which he’s doing at the moment. For him, he has a decision to make in the summer, what’s best for him and whether he feels like he needs to move somewhere he will play more games.”
Q: What do you think are the main differences between Arne Slot’s Liverpool side and Jurgen Klopp’s teams?
“I think that Liverpool this year are a more measured, more controlled side, I think they’ve got a more pragmatic approach. Klopp wanted to play heavy metal football – they were chasing everything at times, every player who had the ball, everything was moving and they chased.
“Under Slot, they’re a lot more pragmatic. They like to pass the ball around at times to work an opportunity, but, when they do win the ball deep, they like to attack in numbers and with pace. So I think they’re very versatile. They score all sorts of goals and there is no one way of playing at Liverpool. I think in a way, they’re a bit more patient now.
“Obviously Klopp left a very good team for Slot to work with, which is obviously another thing which is different to when Klopp first came. Now, they just look like a proper football team, very much in control. At the moment, they’re the best team in Europe, if they can keep that form for the next 12 weeks, then I think we will see them in the Champions League final.”
Q: You mentioned that Klopp favoured heavy metal football at Liverpool and Slot has gone away from that a bit. Do you think the schedule these days is such that it’s actually impossible to be playing this super high intensity, really high pressing football for a full season?
“If you play flat out all the time, players will break down, and the player is no good to you as a manager in the treatment room. If you’ve got a squad of 22 players and you’ve got six or seven out injured every week or every month, it makes things a lot harder.
“So, you know, I think you have to find ways to win games while using as little energy as possible. And obviously a game like Liverpool against Ipswich helps where you fare 4-0 after 55 or 60 minutes and then you can play in second gear for the last half hour, and maybe make a few changes, because it feels afterwards like you only played half a game.
“I think teams have to change. We see it in Germany a lot, where it is the league that by far has the most injuries, a lot more than in England, Italy and France. And it’s certainly something the players have, or the clubs and the managers have to look at in England too, because if you’ve got six or seven players out it’s very hard to win games.”
Q: There’s old reports that you turned down David Moyes and a move to Everton, how do you think your career would have gone differently if you decided to go through with it?
“I do remember when it was clear that I was going to leave Liverpool in 2006, Moyes made a call, and I said to him: “David, I appreciate the interest, but, after all the years I’ve had at Liverpool and the things I’ve experienced, it’s just not possible to join Everton.”
“We had a very short conversation because I said, “David, after all that’s happened at Liverpool, after seven years at this club, I simply can’t do it, but I appreciate your interest.”
“I think he’s a fantastic manager and it’s great to see him back there now. I hope that he can keep them in the Premier League and lead them in the new stadium in the Premier League next season.”
Q: Abdukodir Khusanov had a tough debut for City against Chelsea. What did you make of his performance?
“Obviously, it was really hard for Khusanov, he’s come straight into the starting eleven, he’s a young lad and the Premier League is new for him. He made a bad decision with the poor back pass, but you just have to pull through. It’s a learning curve, and he would have learned an awful lot in that game. Maybe he was a bit too nervous going into the game and hopefully it helps him improve going forward.
“I remember my first start for Bayern Munich, we played Freiburg away and we lost 5-1, so I can relate to what happened to Khusanov on Saturday. In the end, City ended up winning the game, so it didn’t really matter too much. He made a mistake early on, but he would have learned from it and it’s just part of progressing as a player.”
Q: And what do you think Guardiola has to do for the remainder of the season to write the wrongs of this year?
“City just have to shore up defensively. They just concede too many goals. It’s obviously been talked about a lot that Rodri is a big miss, and we all know that, but they just have to find a formation in midfield which gives them a bit more stability, and then they have to cut out the errors because they make quite a few mistakes, and they probably made more mistakes in the first six months of this season than they did in the last five years. And if you do make mistakes, you make it hard for yourself.
“They can’t score three and four goals every week, so they just make it hard for themselves and I think this is where they have to, where they have to get better or be better.”
Q: Omar Marmoush had a good debut for City, but he was best for Frankfurt through the middle. How do you see City using both him and Haaland in the same side?
“Guardiola has got to find a way of Haaland and Marmoush playing together in the same side. Marmoush was having his best season in Germany playing alongside Hugo Ekitike. They linked up very well, complimented each other really well. I think Marmoush is a player who pretty much likes a free role, who likes to drift in and out, go, left, right, wherever. He probably won’t have that freedom to do that under Guardiola so it will be interesting to see how he is used.
“On top of that, Haaland is a pretty static player, he doesn’t like to go out on the wing or take players on which will affect how Marmoush plays with him. In Frankfurt, he was the main man. He could do what he wanted and if he lost the ball, it didn’t matter as much, now that won’t the case and it remains to be seen how he plays in for City and how he links up with Haaland, because I don’t think it’s that easy to score many goals next to him. He occupies spaces where the goals are being scored and this is why he scores so many goals in a season, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out.”
Q: Do you think Marmoush will be a success then?
“Put it this way, if Marmoush doesn’t work out at City, it won’t be because he doesn’t have enough quality. He’s an extremely talented player and we have seen that the last few years in Germany. There’s no guarantees in football and it may be that he doesn’t fit in the side or the formation, but he’s got the talent to be a success in the Premier League.”
Q: It looks as if Marmoush will play primarily off the left, further knocking Jack Grealish down the pecking order. Does he have to leave now if he wants to get into Tuchel’s thoughts for England?
“With Marmoush arriving, that’s another player that Grealish has to compete with and it looks hard for him to be playing enough games for City. That said, I would like to see him play in the middle. He hasn’t got out and out pace, and it’s very hard to go past players out wide these days but he is so good with the ball and creating chances in the middle. He hasn’t scored enough goals out wide for City and it may be that he has to move on now. I’m sure Grealish is not happy being a part timer and he’s too good for that.”
Q: How do you think Tuchel will get on for England and do you back him to be the man to England’s long trophy drought?
“I never expected a German to be managing England! He is clearly a very good manager and he has a fantastic squad on his hands, you’d probably say that at their best, Spain is the only country with players that can rival England. I was very surprised when he was appointed, I have to say. We will see how he gets on for England and he will be desperate to start well in March with some wins.”
Q: What was the reaction to his appointment like in Germany?
“A lot of people in Germany were surprised to see him take the England job for sure. There was talk in Germany a few years ago whether we would want to hire a foreign manager and a lot of people said no, but I think it may not be a bad thing to bring someone from outside to give us a different view. Obviously this isn’t England’s first foreign manager and if he wins the World Cup I’m sure no one in England will care where he’s from!”
