What Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool departure means for Man United and record title bid

Manchester United have not seen a lot of bad news come out of Liverpool in recent years.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure, however, could be a serious blow to Arne Slot's team. The versatile right-back has his flaws, particularly when it comes to concentration, but make no mistake that Liverpool have lost a generational talent and that will sting.

The fact that he is also departing Anfield on a free transfer will only make it more painful for United's great rivals. As an academy graduate, any transfer fee received would have gone down as pure profit on Liverpool's balance sheet. Due to the league's profit and sustainability rules (PSR), pure profit is like gold dust for Premier League clubs.

Instead, they are watching on helplessly as one of their prized assets walks away for nothing. Now, any hope of a huge rebuild on Merseyside will be ever so slightly dampened, with less PSR wriggle room to work with.

Liverpool's lack of heavy expenditure last summer will help them, of course, as will success on the pitch, which will boost their financial position. But it is vital for United and other top-flight teams that Slot's men do not pull even further into the distance.

It now feels likely that Liverpool will win a converted record 21st league title before United. No one needs to tell fans at Old Trafford that Ruben Amorim's side are light years away from their most hated rivals.

And yet things can change quickly in football. What if Amorim's men win this season's Europa League and, more importantly, seal a lucrative place in next season's Champions League?

United would finally see some light at the end of the tunnel and a path towards a much-needed rebuild. Of course, no one is suggesting that the Reds would then be able to go and challenge for Premier League glory next term. Amorim himself has acknowledged this after they suffered their 16th league defeat of an abysmal campaign on Sunday at Brentford.

But United themselves know how hard it is to get recruitment right. All it takes is for Liverpool to have one or two bad transfer windows for that gap to narrow - if United can get their own house in order, of course.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's exit from Anfield may not stop Slot's side from winning more silverware next season. It does, however, weaken their PSR position and lead to questions over how they will replace a player who has undeniably had a huge impact on Merseyside over the last several years.

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