Arne Slot asks fans to support Trent Alexander-Arnold at trophy presentation

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has called on fans to put their grievances over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to one side for the Premier League champions’ coronation.

Former captain Alan Hansen will hand over the trophy to current skipper Virgil van Dijk after Sunday’s final match of the season against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.

It will be 35 years and 24 days since Hansen himself lifted what was then the Division One trophy in front of a full Kop, and the first time fans will have seen it in person since then as the 2020 ceremony took place in an empty stadium because of Covid regulations.

However, the spectre of Alexander-Arnold, who appears set to join Real Madrid in the summer after deciding not to renew his contract, looms large over the occasion. On his last appearance at Anfield he was booed by fans unhappy at the way the former academy graduate had handled his departure.

Asked whether he would play the defender, who remained on the bench for Monday’s defeat at Brighton as midfielder Wataru Endo came on at right-back, Slot said: “I haven’t decided on that one yet but I think this should be a day that everybody is going to enjoy.

“It has been 35 years. Everyone – Liverpool fans – has been waiting for this moment and we have set the example against Tottenham (the day they clinched the title last month).

“Everyone in the stadium deserves to be there: the fans, the staff but also the players. And one of my players is Trent, so he definitely deserves to be there as well because he has been part of an incredibly successful season and incredibly successful few years at this club.

“I can only hope we do it one more time over like we did at Tottenham, and I have a lot of trust in our fans that we can do it again.”