Jurgen Klopp has warning for Trent Alexander-Arnold that Philippe Coutinho should've listened to

Nearly two weeks have passed since Liverpool's last match but .

Of course, , and have been on international duty, and representing their respective countries has been a priority since 's win over Crystal Palace a fortnight ago, but concern is growing over the lack of updates regarding all three players' contract situations.

Liverpool , Van Dijk and Salah to enter the final year of their deals, and in just over two months' time - as things stand - the trio will be able to negotiate with foreign clubs over possible free transfers at the end of the season.

Alexander-Arnold's situation is perhaps the most curious of them all given he is a boyhood Red, having spent the vast majority of his life at the club. Aged 26, he should be heading into the prime years of his career at Anfield, but instead it sounds like there is a strong possibility that he will be playing for Real Madrid next season.

It would be harsh to criticize Alexander-Arnold for being enticed by the prospect of playing for arguably the biggest club in the world, but there are undoubtedly lessons to be learned from previous instances where big-name players have left Liverpool, only to find out the grass isn't always greener elsewhere.

The most obvious example of that happening was in 2018, when Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool's star player during Jurgen Klopp's early days at the club, left the Reds to join Barcelona. Coutinho could not replicate his stunning Liverpool form in Catalonia and has since played for four other clubs, turning out for Bayern Munich, Aston Villa, Al-Duhail and Vasco da Gama.

Prior to him leaving Merseyside, Klopp had some advice for Coutinho: "I told him to stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour. Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more."

Coutinho's departure for a nine-figure fee ultimately funded moves for Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, so there is little regret on Liverpool's part regarding the Brazilian's exit given what the Reds went on to achieve with the help of those two key signings, but, in Alexander-Arnold's case, fans would not be able to comfort themselves with that possibility, given the club would not be receiving a transfer fee for him that could be reinvested in the squad.

On a personal level for Alexander-Arnold, while Madrid is tempting for a plethora of reasons, the adulation he currently receives at Anfield will not be replicated wherever else he goes. Deep down, he will probably know that, and that will no doubt come into his thinking when he eventually comes to making the biggest decision of his career.