Liverpool get green light for Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement and Arne Slot transfer reunion

Arne Slot knows one potential Liverpool replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold very well, and the player seems to be available during this summer transfer window

RB Leipzig are reportedly open to former Feyenoord defender Lutsharel Geertruida departing during this summer transfer window.

Geertruida, 24, signed a five-year contract with the Bundesliga club on transfer deadline day last August. However, the Netherlands international has started barely half of their league matches this season.

Marco Rose dropped Geertruida during his final matches in charge after the March international break, having also benched him in mid-January. Interim head coach Zsolt Low has since rarely used the player, who Leipzig have used more in central defence rather than right-back during this first season away from his boyhood club.

Sky Germany now reports that Geertruida is "extremely dissatisfied" and claims the club are open to talks with the Rotterdam native. They describe the player's start in Saxony as "disappointing", particularly in light of the €25million (£21 million) Leipzig could end up paying Feyenoord, including bonuses, as part of their deal.

The contrast between how this season started and will end is stark. In August, he was captaining the Dutch club, lifting the Johan Cruyff Shield - the Dutch Super Cup - after winning a penalty shootout against PSV in Eindhoven and making his 200th appearance for Feyenoord.

That success came following their Dutch Cup-winning campaign in their last season with Arne Slot as head coach. Geertruida excelled across the year, scoring nine goals across all competitions and assisting another five for his teammates.

Inevitably, that led to links with Liverpool, especially with Trent Alexander-Arnold entering the final year of his contract. Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were also credited with an interest in the defender last summer.

Then, during an in-house interview with Leipzig before they played Liverpool in the Champions League, Geertruida said: "Arne managed to get the best out of me. He was never afraid to give me some harsh truths and was always correct in what he said about me."