Slot says Alexander-Arnold 'fully committed' to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Trent Alexander-Arnold is fully committed to Liverpool, manager Arne Slot said Friday, amid interest in the England right back from Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold's contract with Liverpool expires at the end of the season so he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club if he wishes.

Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the European champions were reportedly rebuffed when they made an initial enquiry about Alexander-Arnold in late December.

Slot was asked about the defender's situation in a news conference ahead of Liverpool's match against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and he said he had had a conversation with Alexander-Arnold but would not divulge any details.

Asked if Alexander-Arnold would be staying at Liverpool beyond January, Slot only said: "I can tell you he is playing on Sunday, and hopefully he brings the same performances he brought in the past half-year.

“Because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. I see him on the training ground every day ... he is fully committed to us.”

Slot is sure Madrid's pursuit of Alexander-Arnold isn't affecting the defender.

“If it would destabilize players at Liverpool that other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem,” Slot said, "because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always, for 12 months long, will talk about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs.

“That happens so, so, so many times for our players, so if that destabilizes them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but the past six months.”

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk also are out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season.

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Liverpool's manager Arne Slot celebrates after their win in the English Premier League soccer match against West Ham United at the London Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Liverpool's manager Arne Slot looks on before the start of the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold scores his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium in London, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian People’s Party on Sunday nominated its General Secretary Christian Stocker as interim leader after the expected resignation of Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Austrian news agency APA reported.

Nehammer announced Saturday he would resign in the next few days after coalition talks with the Social Democrats collapsed.

Stocker, a lawyer and member of the Austrian Parliament, has served as general secretary of the People’s Party since 2022. He is seen as an experienced and calm crisis communicator who has frequently appeared in Austrian media to defend controversial decisions.

It is not clear yet who will become acting chancellor until a new government is formed.

Protected by special police forces, Nehammer walked across the square from the Chancellery toward the president’s office in Vienna.

“What is important for me is that the way of stability and the center can be continued,” he said.

Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen will make a public statement to announce the next steps once the meeting with Nehammer is over.

The 52-year-old Nehammer became chancellor and conservative party leader in 2021, after his predecessor Sebastian Kurz was forced to stand down following allegations of corruption.

In April 2022, Nehammer became the first European leader to visit Moscow and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Before going to Moscow, he also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Austria was thrown into political turmoil on Friday after the liberal party NEOS pulled out of coalition talks with the center-left Social Democrats and the conservative People’s Party. On Saturday the two remaining parties, who have a razor-thin majority in Parliament, made another attempt to negotiate and form a government – but this effort also ended in failure after a few hours, with negotiators saying they were unable to agree on how to repair the budget deficit.

FILE - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer attends a press conference in Vienna on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader, File)