The Real Madrid defender talked about his experience of training under Jose Mourinho, as he looks forward to the new season.
Real Madrid look to hit the ground running under new manager Jose Mourinho, as they prepare for the new campaign with the Portuguese manager.
The previous two seasons have been far from satisfactory for Los Blancos. The Whites failed to win any major trophy for two back-to-back campaigns despite making some notable signings last summer.
Apparently, Los Blancos went on to bring in reinforcements for every single one of their 2025 summer signings during the initial phases of the ongoing transfer window.
The likes of Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and Bernando Silva fit perfectly as further reinforcements for Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono.
As a result, the former lot of signings will need to prove their worth during the pre-season training, which is currently underway at the Valdebebas, under the watch of Mourinho.
Alexander-Arnold and his fellow Real Madrid teammates who have already reported for pre-season training will certainly have an advantage over the Whites' World Cup stars, who are yet to land in Madrid.
The English right-back, on the other hand, found himself omitted from Thomas Tuchel's squad for the tournament following a subpar campaign at the Spanish capital last time around.
As it seems, Alexander-Arnold is already excited to start his second season with Los Blancos with a lot of intensity, as he talked about pre-season training to the club media, saying, "Everything is going well. It’s hot, and the intensity is high. We’re in preseason, and this is what we expected. There are a lot of tough sessions, many double sessions, so it has been intense so far."
He also added, "In the summer, you get a couple of weeks to rest and then a few weeks getting back to running and regaining fitness. Now, in preseason, you have to come back in shape. So I was ready and excited to return."
The 27-year-old also praised his new manager, Jose Mourinho, saying, "Very good, very good. I have always admired the coach. I’ve played against him a couple of times, and it’s a pleasure to work with him and his team. It’s intense. The principles and the level of demand are very high, so I’m looking forward to seeing how, the more we get to know each other, the more we learn and the more he can teach us. And we’re all willing and eager to learn and improve. I’m sure he’ll teach us many things and help us win trophies this year."
Undoubtedly, Trent will need to be at his very best if he is to start ahead of Dumfries during the upcoming campaign.
The right-back was heavily criticized for his poor display during his first season at Madrid, and there were a lot of rumors earlier, which suggested an early exit from the Spanish capital.
Now, with the start of pre-season training, those rumors have slowly faded away, as the Whites look forward to healthy competition between Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold for a place in Mourinho's starting line-up this season.
