Trent Alexander-Arnold return to England in January ruled out

Trent Alexander-Arnold has ‘no intention of leaving’ Real Madrid in January despite his struggle to secure a starting spot. The England international joined Real from his beloved Liverpool in May 2025, but has only started 17 league games since. Injuries haven’t helped his career in Spain so far, however, he has failed to make an impact this season in particular. Under new boss Jose Mourinho , Alexander-Arnold has started just two games in La Liga and once in the Champions League . His latest appearance was in El Clasico, which saw two goals from Kylian Mbappe secure a 2-1 victory for Real over Barcelona . But the 28-year-old played just one minute of the huge clash, being brought on by Mourinho in the 94th minute. Federico Valverde had started in Alexander-Arnold’s right-back position before he was injured and replaced by Denzel Dumfries. It indicated that Alexander-Arnold was third in the order of right-backs, which will be very worrying for the Englishman. Due to his struggles to lock down regular minutes, he has been linked to a potential quick return to the Premier League . But Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has shut down any suggestion that Alexander-Arnold could leave Real Madrid . Could Alexander-Arnold return to England in January? When asked whether he thinks the defender could leave Madrid, Balague told talkSPORT Breakfast : “No, not in January. “What he’s feeling right now is ‘Okay, it’s not my time, but it will be my time, I will prepare for my time’. That’s how he’s taking the whole thing. “But there are two ahead of him in the same position (Valverde and Dumfries) and in fact, Eder Militao was also used as a right back against Sevilla. So is he fourth choice ? He’s certainly third it seems. “But he’s not down, he’s been told by Mourinho to keep at it, he will have his moment. “It’s been unfair that when he has played from the start, he has played in the midfield because of the absentees. “But in any case, he’s got to keep fighting and he wants to succeed at Real Madrid, so he’s got no intention of leaving.” Alexander-Arnold stats at Real Madrid It seems Alexander-Arnold is committed to making things work at Real Madrid despite his struggles at the club so far. In the 17 months since joining Los Blancos, he’s played 42 games for the club in all competitions, starting 31 altogether. In those appearances though, during which he has provided eight assists, he has only played 90 minutes 15 times, often being substituted when starting. He has spent two separate periods out with injuries that have seen his minutes dwindle through no fault of his own. However, after featuring regularly under now Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso and now Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa , new manager Mourinho doesn’t appear to want to start him on a regular basis. Alexander-Arnold has made seven appearances in all competitions this term under Mourinho, starting just four times. He has been left as an unused substitute on six occasions. And judging from this season so far, he’s going to have to prove he’s better than three other options at right-back if he wants a regular place in the line-up.