Arne Slot has again reiterated that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool’s other stars out of contract this summer is not distracting the Reds’ pursuit of glory. Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah have yet to sign new contracts with the clock ticking before they expire at the end of the season. But speculation was again ramped up over the future of the Reds right-back during the international break with reports that Real Madrid are closing in on a deal to sign him on a free transfer this summer. Alexander-Arnold is out of tomorrow’s Merseyside Derby through injury but boss Slot again ruled out the noise being a distraction and pointed to all three players’ brilliant form this season. He said: “His situation is unfortunately that he is injured, otherwise people would have spoken that he had one or two brilliant performances for the England team. “But he is injured and for him that means he is fully focused on his recovery. For us it means we will try to help him to be back as soon as he can. “And for the rest, for eight months it went a bit up and down with talks about him, Virgil or Mo, but we have never been focused on those talks, we have always been focused on what we have to do, and for Virgil and Mo that is trying to win the Merseyside derby and for Trent it is trying to be fit as soon as he can. “It is a situation that is there for eight or nine months now and I think all these three players have performed so well under these circumstances so it doesn’t affect me at all.” Alexander-Arnold has an ankle injury and will miss the derby while Ryan Gravenberch should be fit after returning from international duty with Holland early as a precaution. Alisson suffered concussion playing for Brazil but is in line to start if he passes the latest examination later today. Slot will make a late decision on Conor Bradley after the Northern Ireland international returned to training recently following a hamstring injury. Liverpool are 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Slot said: “Ryan is OK, although we have to train one more time. Ali trained with us as well. The last check has to be made this afternoon after the last session if he is available to play. “Conor is training with us again but we have to make a decision on whether he is playing. “Playing means coming in or starting, that is something I keep for myself. He has only had a few sessions after being out quite long with a repetitive injury, so we have to make smart decisions.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.