Richard Hughes under pressure at Liverpool after Trent Alexander-Arnold update

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is under fresh pressure to agree a new contract for Trent Alexander-Arnold after the defender put the ball in the club's court with a public interview.

The right-back hit an impressive milestone with his assist for one of Luis Diaz's goals in the 3-0 win against Bournemouth on Saturday. It means he has been directly involved in 100 goals (19 goals, 81 assists) in 316 first-team appearances.

But there are fears the Merseyside outfit will lose their local hero at the end of the campaign, when his contract currently stands to expire.

Alexander-Arnold was quizzed on his future after the win over the Cherries and said: "I have always said I want to captain the club. That is a goal of mine, whether that happens is out of my hands.

"I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say. I have been at the club 20 years now, I have signed four or five contract extensions and none of those have been played out in public and this one won't be either."

Hughes signed just two players in the summer - Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa - and all eyes are on him to agree new contracts not only for vice-captain Alexander-Arnold but also skipper Virgil van Dijk and constant top goalscorer Mohamed Salah.

While Alexander-Arnold stopped short of confirming he only sees himself at Liverpool, the 25-year-old added that his priority is to win trophies - and added he is "excited about the plans" for the club's future under Arne Slot.

Alexander-Arnold is understood to earn around £180,000 a week at Anfield at the moment and any new deal would require a substantial pay rise, given Real Madrid are lurking and ready to snap him up on a free transfer.

Los Blancos would be able to at least double the England international's wages and it is on Hughes, but also Slot, to prove to the defender that his future is best served at his current club.

Slot so far has done his part. Liverpool are one point off leaders Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and convincingly beat AC Milan in their Champions League league phase opener.

Now it is over to Hughes and the Reds' boardroom to make an enticing offer to Alexander-Arnold. Huge financial incentives but also the promise of becoming captain after Van Dijk will be two main talking points.

Losing the vice-captain in particular would be a gigantic setback for not just Slot and his ambitions of winning major trophies at Liverpool, but to the club and its fanbase, to whom the player is "the Scouser in our team" as his chant goes.

Replacing him as a footballer on the pitch would be extremely difficult despite Conor Bradley being an able back-up. Replacing him as a personality would be even harder.

Getting a new deal over the line before Christmas would be a welcome present for Liverpool supporters. It should be their top priority given how menacingly Real Madrid lurk.

The 15-time Champions League winners are one of the few clubs in the world who can offer Alexander-Arnold near-guaranteed trophies, extra money and the ability to play alongside his pal Jude Bellingham.

The closer and closer it gets to January 1, the more intermediaries will be in the ears of the Scouser's representatives urging him to head to Madrid in July. It's on Hughes to ensure the Spaniards' pleas fall on deaf ears.